Law of the Land
by wirenoose
Summary: Basically a Spirit/Kingdom AU, told in parts and not a coherent storyline. Order of chapter is NOT chronological, and there will be warnings if necessary on each. (Posted on AO3 as well, so you can check the tags there)
1. Come to Bed -KuroKen

The guilt eats away, rushing to consume him. It's all his fault, isn't it?

* * *

It's the wincing that does it, how Kenma slowly eases out of his clothes because the slightest movement lights up his nerves like cannon fire. The heavy bandages coat his torso like a second skin and his eyes are somewhat hazy from whatever it was that Yaku made him drink. Kuroo hasn't joined him in bed since it happened; illogically thinking that he'll hurt Kenma again.

But it's been almost two weeks.

"Kuroo," Kenma says softly, shuffling over to him.

He wraps his arms around Kuroo's waist, he can't move too close, his chest is still sensitive to pressure.

"Come to bed," he says.

"No."

Kenma drops his arms and moves so he's in front of Kuroo. His eyes almost glow in the dark of their room, his steady gaze fixed on Kuroo's face.

"Come to bed," he repeats.

"No."

"What do you think will happen?"

Kuroo closes his eyes, so as to avoid that calculating stare.

"Tetsurou, everything is fine."

"No it's not," Kuroo snaps.

It's not okay, nothing is fine, not when he hurt Kenma, not when he knows he can hurt him. He couldn't even stop himself, not when Kenma staggered back and fell, and not when Kenma began to bleed. It had taken Bokuto and Daichi to stop him; they had to physically restrain him and take him away from the field.

"Tetsurou," Kenma says again, softer as he steps closer, "You won't hurt me, not right now, I can feel it. There isn't a hint of bloodlust in your eyes right now."

Kenma's hands, soft but worn from years of apothecary work, settle on Kuroo's shoulders, slowly applying pressure until he's kneeling. Kenma stands taller than him this way, he can make Kuroo look up at him. He does, pushing his thumbs under Kuroo's jaw to tilt his head back slightly.

"Nothing will happen," Kenma's voice speaks promise, he spares one of his hands so he can run it through Kuroo's hair.

Kuroo isn't entirely sure, but Kenma's already pulling him to his feet and guiding him towards the bed.

Kenma lays down first, resting against the headboard so he doesn't aggravate his chest. Soon enough, Kuroo lays down, his head in Kenma's lap with the other boy's fingers in his hair and dancing about his skin.

"I have faith that it won't happen again. I know you're worrying about it. I was frightened, yes, but I'm not scared of you, and I still trust you, all right?"

Kuroo doesn't trust himself to speak but he nods.

He can practically feel Kenma's small smile.


	2. Little Blue Flowers -KageHina

In all reality, Hinata probably should have realized that the breeze is non existent, that the flowers are moving on their own.

* * *

Hinata's by himself; Yachi's visiting Kiyoko at the Baron's Stay and he'd sent her with a few commissions he'd managed to finish up.

He's ahead of schedule for once, and Yachi's book is coming along nicely. It's a good day, but Hinata's itching to do something. Grabbing a few scraps of leftover paper, Hinata slips into his boots and sets out to draw something.

The woods beyond Yachi's botanical garden is a place he knows well enough; he's drawn a lot of the greenery for her so she can include illustrations in her book. He wanders past the tree line and deeper in, humming to himself as he looks for something interesting.

It takes some forty minutes but Hinata settles down against a tree to draw a small patch of flowers. He's never seen them before; he'll have to show Yachi when she gets back. The flowers seem to glow in the afternoon light, swaying in a light breeze. The petals are light blue, growing darker the closer to the center they are.

They're quite beautiful.

In all reality, Hinata probably should have realized that the breeze is non existent, that the flowers are moving on their own.

He stops his work, mouth dropping open as a boy sits up.

"Wow," Hinata breathes, not able to think of anything else to say.

The boy, spirit, is absolutely stunning. The flowers grow along his limbs; the ones Hinata's drawing are on his back. They aren't glowing in the sun either, they emit their own light blue glow. The spirit is pale, Hinata thinks he can even see through the skin somewhat. But the spirit is staring at him, blue eyes wide and full of stars.

"Uh, hi," Hinata says, pencil still poised above his paper.

The spirit narrows his eyes but makes no move to flee. Or attack.

"Um, I'm Hinata. Your flowers look amazing."

A blush spreads across the spirit's cheeks, bringing color to his pallid face, and Hinata grins.

"I'm sorry I drew you without your permission, I didn't realize...but do you mind if I continue?"

The spirit eases from his defensive posture and sits down, nodding slowly. Hinata smiles once again and ducks back to his work, occasionally glancing up to find the spirit staring at him. He's surprised to say the least; solo spirits are uncommon, especially forest ones. This spirit doesn't seem bothered though.

"Here," Hinata says, holding up the paper when he's finished. It's still light out, but the sun will begin its descent soon. The spirit reaches out to take the drawing, handling it like it will break at any moment.

"What's your name?" Hinata asks, pleased that the spirit seems to like his work.

"Kageyama," he whispers.

"Do you mind if I come back and draw you tomorrow, Kageyama?"

"You're nice," Kageyama says instead, "he always said you wouldn't be nice."

"Huh?"

Kageyama's eyes snap up, the stars swirling in a frenzy.

"Nothing. You won't tell anyone about me, will you?"

Hinata knows why he might be worried. Spirits generally live deeper in their homes than where Kageyama is, much deeper. There has to be a reason that he's by himself.

"I won't."

"Then, okay, I guess."


	3. Weather Sense and How to Use It -DaiSuga

When they're ten, Suga tells him there will be a storm, despite the clear sky. After an hour or so, the world outside is nothing but blurry rain and flooding grass

* * *

Suga seems just as surprised as Daichi; he's staring at the water clinging to his skin in wonder. Daichi's still trying to regulate his breathing while Suga sits beside him totally unbothered.

"You can- you can breathe under water?"

"I guess so."

Suga's mother explains it to them, first stressing the importance that no one else find out. As it happens, Suga's great grandmother was a water aligned spirit, which makes Suga one eighth spirit.

Daichi can't stop staring at his best friend.

The next day, Daichi comes over to see Suga playing with a young boy. He's never seen the boy before, so he's probably a new arrival at the orphanage. The little boy has bright orange hair and he's smiling up at Suga like the older boy is the most important person in the world at the moment.

"Suga!" Daichi calls, jogging closer.

The little boy jumps, hiding behind Suga. He's small, incredibly so, and Daichi can't tell if he's two or six.

"Ah, Daichi, this is Shouyou, he's just come this morning," Suga says with a warm smile. Daichi waves his hello, then Shouyou is scampering off to another little boy with freckles who's playing near the front garden.

"Shy?" Daichi asks.

"Really shy. Wanna go to the lake?"

Suga doesn't wait for his answer, only grabs his hand and takes off running.

"I was practicing last night," Suga says, "I stuck my head in a bucket and I found out I can breathe under water for a whole hour. A whole hour, Daichi!"

"You-what? Suga!"

Suga's laughing, breathlessly, by the time they reach the lake and he doubles over, bracing his hands on his knees. He takes only a few seconds to get himself under control before stripping off his shirt and diving into the water. Daichi pauses for a moment, waiting for Suga's head to come back up. It does, after a minute, and Daichi sighs when he sees Suga's still smiling.

* * *

When they're ten, Suga tells him there will be a storm, despite the clear sky. They're at the orphanage, Suga's mother is downstairs singing songs with the children. Daichi wants to go walking down the path he discovered in the forest a few days previous.

"But the weather's fine now," he says.

"By the time we're in the forest we'll end up getting stuck there."

Daichi doesn't believe him, and Suga's not even sure how he knows, but he listens regardless. The two join Suga's mother, Shoyou immediately stumbling over to Suga, settling himself in his lap and waving shyly at Daichi.

After an hour or so, the world outside is nothing but blurry rain and flooding grass.

* * *

When they turn thirteen, Suga dives to the bottom of the lake and comes up with decades of lost jewelry, which they sell to a well known traveler wanted for his theft of numerous treasures. They use the money to make improvements for the orphanage, much to Suga's mother's joy.

Suga's giddy for the rest of the day, so much that he doesn't protest when Daichi proposes they go tree climbing. Daichi ends up spending the night.

He's up the entire time, captivated as Suga tells him everything he saw at the bottom of the lake.

* * *

By sixteen, they're training. They're both children of the District's Barons; Suga's father died but he's still in line as Daichi's second when the other claims his title.

They train at the Baron's Stay; Suga's a better strategist and Daichi's never lost a match. They meet Kiyoko there as well; she's their age but not training. She handles the records for the Stay but she's only recently moved to the Crow District, bringing with her a quiet girl named Yachi.

Daichi has plans to be a soldier, to work his way up the ranks before he takes his title. Suga ends up staying behind to take care of the orphanage after his mother contracts a sickness.

The day before Daichi leaves, Suga kisses him.

They're apart for nearly a year and a half. When Daichi returns from the front, he goes directly to the orphanage. Suga's sitting out on the grass, Shouyou asleep on a blanket beside him. It takes only a minute for Suga to realize who's walking up the front path and he jumps up, breaking into a run. He knocks Daichi to the ground, holding him tight.

"I missed you."

Daichi manages to sit up and he gently takes Suga's face in his hands.

He returns the kiss.

* * *

It's Daichi's job to host the Baron meetings now, and he's nervous. Kiyoko sits down to his left, and Suga stays standing by his right.

"Daichi?" he whispers.

"Hmm?"

"No need to worry, we'll have perfect weather today, we may even see a rainbow."


	4. You Didn't Know -BokuAka

Under any other circumstance, Akaashi wouldn't hesitate to reach for him, hold his hands and step closer so he can tell Bokuto that everything is okay.

* * *

He hasn't told him yet, and he certainly won't now. Bokuto didn't intend to be malicious, Akaashi knows that, but it hurts all the same. Bokuto even has well founded reasons for his opinions.

Akaashi shuts his door, sucking down air to disperse the panic. He can feel the pinpricks of pressure under his skin, but he can't let them out, not yet. He moves to his window, the flowers reach out to him.

He feels bad for running, Bokuto isn't going to understand why.

One of the petals touches his skin and Akaashi looks down at it, smiling softly. He remembers his mother sitting with him in the garden, telling him stories of his grandmother. His mother's garden was a force to be reckoned with, it was gorgeous, definitely the best in all the districts. She would walk him along the flowers, smiling as his eyes widened when the flowers stretched to touch him.

Akaashi stands and goes to his bed, intending to sleep off his feelings. As he lays back, he finds himself wondering if he could have kept this up a little longer. Just long enough until he could get up the courage and explain himself outright, that would have been better. He's lucky he was just with Bokuto, if anyone more astute had been there, he'd be done for. He knows Bokuto won't tell anyone, at least not until he's come to Akaashi first.

But he doesn't know if he's ready to face him.

* * *

Akaashi stays in his room for a week before finally giving into Bokuto's routine knocking and begging for entry. He's listened to Bokuto sit just outside the door, talking, quietly telling Akaashi about what happened, and apologizing for whatever he did, that he still isn't one hundred percent sure, but he has an idea, about what he did. When Bokuto says he thinks he knows for sure, Akaashi opens the door and lets him inside.

"Have you been sleeping out here?"

The space in front of his door is blocked by a heavy blanket and a pillow.

"I-I have," Bokuto says quietly. He takes a small shuffling step closer to Akaashi but moves no further, his hands twitch at his side, like he needs something to hold onto. Under any other circumstance, Akaashi wouldn't hesitate to reach for him, hold his hands and step closer so he can tell Bokuto that everything is okay.

Akaashi waves him further inside so he can close the door.

"I've been thinking...about what I did to upset you and make you mad at me and I-" Bokuto swallow thickly, twisting his hands into his sleep pants. "I talked about spirits, but you c- Akaashi, are you- you aren't a spirit, are you?"

There are tears in Bokuto's eyes, Akaashi knows he's more upset about all the instances Akaashi's been around to hear derogatory comments than the fact that he might be a spirit. He's more upset that Akaashi hasn't told him, upset that he was unaware of such a large aspect of Akaashi. He's upset that he'd inadvertently hurt him. Bokuto looks up, golden eyes shining while he worries his teeth through his lips. He won't cry, not yet, not until he fixes this.

Akaashi draws in a breath. He wants nothing more than for Bokuto to forgive himself. It wasn't his fault, it's Akaashi's for not telling him. But maybe they're both guilty. Akaashi just wants this all over, because if he sees a single tear drip down Bokuto's cheek, he's going to cave in.

"My grandmother was, I'm a quarter forest aligned," he says stiffly.

Bokuto lunges at him, arms around Akaashi in an instant. He buries his face in Akaashi's neck, letting his tears flow when he realizes he's not being pushed away. Instead he gets Akaashi's arms around him, holding him tight.

"I'm sorry," he says to Akaashi's skin. "I'm so sorry, Keiji."

"You didn't know."

"You didn't tell me."

"You gave me a reason not to."

It's probably not the best thing Akaashi could have said, but he's always spoken his mind, for the most part anyways. He tightens his hold on Bokuto, the boy is taller than him so their stance is a little awkward, but he tilts his head to press a kiss to Bokuto's temple.

"Keiji?"

"Hm?"

"Are we okay?"

"For now, we can work on it."


	5. Finally Ready -KageHina(Yachi)

Kageyama had been hesitant to let anyone else know about them, Hinata had respected that. He'd told Kageyama all about Yachi though, told them how nice she was, how she had the same view of spirits as him, and how he wished Kageyama would meet her.

* * *

"Can I- can I touch them? The flowers? Hinata asks.

Kageyama blinks slowly, but nods. They hold out their arm, where a twisting a line of purple flowers has sprouted all the way to their wrist. Hinata shifts closer and gently takes Kageyama's hand.

The flowers feel oddly warm, contrasting with Kageyama's cool skin. Hinata swears he can feel a pulse through the petals. He traces his fingers along the flowers, letting their leaves graze his skin.

Kageyama sways slightly, their eyes drooping shut for a few seconds. When Hinata withdraws his hand, they follow, a low whine in the back of their throat.

Kageyama's eyes snap open and they flinch back. Hinata puts his hands up, but there's a small smile on his face.

"It's fine," he giggles dropping his hands back to his lap.

Kageyama scowls and averts their eyes, a dark blush rushing into their cheeks. Hinata returns to his drawing, humming softly as he does so. It's somewhat chilly, light winter winds have been blowing in from the North. Their District, as well as their immediate neighbors, don't experience the harsh winters, they might get a few light snowfalls and plummeting temperature, but it's nothing like other Districts get.

"Hey, Kageyama?"

"Hm?"

"What happens in the winter?"

"It gets cold," they say bluntly.

"That's not what I meant! What happens to you ?"

"Nothing really. The flowers change color, my hair does as well, a little bit. I don't die if that's what you're asking."

"Oh. Wait, no, that's not- I was just curious because you said you're not a forest aligned spirit."

Kageyama shrugs absently and reaches to take Hinata's free hand, sneaking a look at the drawing in progress. Their eyes are a little different now than they were when Hinata first met them. The stars have been replaced with a swirling silver and Hinata wants so badly to draw them properly.

"You talk about Yachi a lot," they say after a few beats of quiet.

"Yeah, Yachi's amazing and she's so smart! She worked with the Baroness before she met me and-"

"I think I might w- can I meet her?"

Kageyama had been hesitant to let anyone else know about them, Hinata had respected that. He'd told Kageyama all about Yachi though, told them how nice she was, how she had the same view of spirits as him, and how he wished Kageyama would meet her.

"Of course! Oh, she's going to love you!" he shouts happily, grasping Kageyama's other hand.

"You think so?"

"Absolutely! I can bring her when she gets back from her trip. She's with Asahi, he's not a botanist but he's our District Healer. I can't wait!"

Hinata thinks he sees Kageyama smile but it could have easily been a trick of the light. Kageyama bites their bottom lip before shifting back so they can lay their head in Hinata's lap. With a soft chuckle, Hinata returns to tracing between the flowers.

As the sun begins to set, Hinata places a kiss on Kageyama's forehead.

"I have to go before it gets too dark," he says.

"Right," Kageyama sits up quickly, pushing up onto their feet and helping Hinata stand as well.

"Yachi will be back tomorrow, I'll bring her here around noon. Is that okay?"

Kageyama nods and Hinata beams before collecting his things and running back down the shadowed forest path.

* * *

Quick thing! In Little Blue Flowers, Kageyama is written with he/him pronouns, and here it's they/them pronouns. This is intentional. Though Little Blue Flowers is third person perspective, Hinata is still kind of the narrator so at the time he was unaware that Kageyama is agender. All the spirits, Suga and Akaashi not included because they aren't full spirits, are technically agender but some of them do use gender pronouns. Just to clarify!


	6. Bloodlust -KuroKen

It doesn't matter though, doesn't matter that there are tears running down Kenma's cheeks, or that his hands are shaking. None of it is registering, and Kuroo will cut down anyone in his way.

Prequel to 'Come to Bed'

 **Warning: Implied/Reference Self Harm, non-graphic**

* * *

It's only happened twice before.

The first was in training; he'd been challenged, the other boy was left with bruises mottling his body from the blunt practice swords, as well as a dislocated shoulder. Kuroo had to be held back by their instructor and everybody though it was a fluke, that Kuroo was just blind sided because Kenma was involved.

The second was when he and Bokuto led a small group to an enemy encampment. Kuroo had been fine the entire way, fine up until they'd been ambushed and had to fight. The bulk of the enemy force fell under Kuroo's blade and when Bokuto came up behind him, to congratulate him, he nearly met the same fate.

It wasn't deemed a fluke then.

It was a unanimous decision to have Kuroo removed from the field. He joined Akaashi in strategy until Kenma managed to concoct a tonic for him that dulled the effects.

But now, that familiar rage is building in his stomach. He's going to kill them, going to soak the ground in their blood for what they've done.

He watches as if behind a glass wall, unable to stop his body as he moves forward. His swords seems to leap into his hands and his world takes on a red tint. His rationale dies as his anger builds. He hasn't taken the tonic in weeks, his body is clean and receptive to the rush of blinding heat in his veins.

Faintly, Kuroo can hear his friends behind him, can hear Bokuto shouting at him, shouting orders that Kuroo would otherwise follow. He can hear Sawamura calling for everyone else to clear out, that he and Bokuto can handle this. Kenma's voice is faint, pleading with him to stop his advancement. Kenma isn't a fighter, he can't overpower Kuroo, not like this.

A hand clamps down on his shoulder, he thinks it's Bokuto's, his mind supplies 'enemy'. He stops short, placing one foot back between Bokuto's legs. Kuroo drives his elbow back, hitting his friend square in the solar plexus before jerking his leg and upsetting Bokuto's balance. He hears a heavy thud as Bokuto hits the ground, and he keeps walking.

"Kuroo, stop!"

It's Kenma but Kuroo doesn't stop, he'll cut down anyone in his way, anyone keeping him from his goal.

He's overheating, like he's engulfed in fire, and a sharp ache comes to life at the base of his skull. Still, Kuroo moves on, closing the distance between him and his targets with startling speed.

"Tetsurou!" Kenma is suddenly in front of him, hands held in front of his body like he's going to push Kuroo back. There is fear etched in his features, but there is also steely determination in his eyes. It doesn't matter though, doesn't matter that there are tears running down Kenma's cheeks, or that his hands are shaking. None of it is registering, and Kuroo will cut down anyone in his way.

His right sword flashes down and Kenma drops in an instant. He doesn't pause, keeps going, eyes riveted on his targets.

Then there are arms around him, he faintly recognizes them as Sawamura's, trying to pull him back. His dominant sword arm is trapped against his body, so he goes to use his left, he'll strike down whoever gets in his way.

Then his swords are gone and he's being lifted off the ground. An animalistic scream rips out of his throat. How dare they! He'll cut them down to, he'll cut them all down for keeping him from his targets.

"Sirs? What should I do?" That's Lev, Kuroo almost forgot about him.

"Stay with Kenma, make sure he stays awake!"

He continues to scream, even as Bokuto and Sawamura drag him away. They force him onto the ground a short ways off. Bokuto is at his head, pinning Kuroo's shoulders with his knees, and Sawamura has his legs.

"I'm gonna kill 'em!" Kuroo screams. "They need to pay for what they've done!"

He's almost successful in kicking Sawamura off of him, but the other Baron stays put.

"Kuroo, snap out of it, what the hell? Kuroo!"

Bokuto is yelling and everything is too loud.

"Sawamura, go get Yaku and Azumane, take care of Kenma, Lev's with him right now but I don't know how much he's helping. I'll take care of Kuroo."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, go!"

Bokuto's slip into general mode is the most prominent indicator of just how terrible the situation is. He only ever does this in wartime, and if he's doing it now…

Daich jumps up and runs back to Kenma.

"Lev, I need you to get Yaku and send a bird for Asahi, now."

Lev takes off and Daichi turns his focus to Kenma. The apothecary is covered in blood, but he's breathing, his eyes are open.

"Kozume? Keep your eyes on me," he says, tearing off his cloak so he can put pressure on the massive slash. The blood seeps through almost immediately and Daichi doesn't even register that it's coating his hands, or that he's kneeling a small puddle of Kenma's blood.

"Not his fault," Kenma wheezes.

"Don't talk. I don't know how bad this is but Lev went to get Yaku. And Asahi's going to get you fixed up when he gets here."

Kenma scrunches his eyes shut.

"It hurts," he mumbles, squeezing Daichi's hand.

"I know, you'll be fine though."

"Does this happen- when you go?"

"To fight? Not like this, not us anyways."

Kenma lets out a breathy chuckle as Yaku arrives.

"Azumane's on his way, let me see what I can do until then. We need to get him inside, can you carry him?" Yaku asks, rolling up his sleeves.

"I can."

Slowly, he gets Kenma arranged in his arms and follows Yaku as quickly as he can.

Yaku gets him stable, the blood flow slowing but Kenma looks even worse by the time Asahi arrives a few hours later.

Daich steps out as Asahi takes charge and he finds Bokuto waiting for him.

"He's out, I had Lev take him after he went unconscious. Is Kenma okay?"

"Asahi's here, he'll be fine."

They sit on the ground and Bokuto offers Daichi a rag.

"You have blood on your face."

Really, Daichi has blood everywhere; his face, his hands, his clothes are soaked in Kenma's blood.

By the time Asahi comes out, it's dark.

"He's stitched up, Yaku's making him something for the pain. It was deep but he'll be fine after a couple weeks of bed rest and- I guess just rest in general."

"Thank you Asahi," Daichi stands to clasp his friend's forearm and Asahi only manages a shaky grin.

"You're welcome to a room at my Stay for the night," Bokuto says.

Bokuto finds Kuroo pacing outside the infirmary the next day. He looks like a mess, and his eyes are red like he's not stopped crying since he came back to himself.

"Bo! He's okay right? Please tell me he's okay."

Bokuto finds Kuroo directly in front of him, hands twisted into his shirt.

"He's okay, Azumane, from the Crow District, got here and patched him up, Yaku's made something for the pain. He'll be on bed rest for a while but he's okay."

Kuroo slumps, Bokuto's never seen him look so defeated.

"I hurt him, I didn't even-"

"Do you want to go in and see him?"

"No. I- I can't."

"He doesn't blame you."

Kuroo doesn't say anything, just steps back, running the heel of his hand against his eyes to wipe away the new flood of tears. Taking a closer look, Bokuto realizes that Kuroo is much worse than he initially thought. There are scratches on his arms, most likely Kuroo's way of grounding himself. There's even a section of angry red-purple scabs on the top of his left hand. Bokuto's pretty sure that if he lifted up Kuroo's shirt, he'd find dark bruises along his chest. He'd seen those same bruises after the ambush in the forest, Kuroo had repeatedly hit himself until fist sized patches of red bloomed along his abdomen and chest.

"Kuroo-"

"Please let me know how he recovers."

Then Kuroo's running off, back towards his room at the Stay.

It's painful, Kenma finds he really doesn't want to go anywhere anytime soon. Yaku's been dosing him with experimental pain tonics that seem to do their job but only for a short time. He's grateful for it though. Bokuto's been down to see him every day, letting him know that Kuroo's locked himself in his room. The Crow District's Healer, Asahi, has checked in as well, making sure the wound hasn't been infected. Even Lev has come by, doing his best to entertain Kenma.

But it's a week until Kuroo makes it down to the infirmary.

The door eases open, Kenma's staring at the ceiling but his eyes, golden and glowing in the lantern light, jump to the entryway to see who the visitor is.

"Kuroo."

He looks horrible, like he's never seen a night of sleep in his life, and his already messy hair is a disaster. In the faint light, Kenma can see the gauze bandages on Kuroo's arms, the small patches of dark red from the blood that has seeped through and dried.

Kuroo doesn't say a word, only moves quickly to Kenma's infirmary bed. He stares a moment, tears brimming in his eyes, before picking up Kenma's hand. Within seconds, he's crying, begging for forgiveness before backtracking and saying he doesn't deserve it. Over and over again, he apologizes, and he cries, holding Kenma's hand and pressing kisses along his fingers and across his knuckles.

Kenma doesn't try to interrupt him, knowing that Kuroo will most likely continue on until he runs out of breath.

When he finally falls silent, Kenma exhales slowly and reaches over with his free hand to tilt Kuroo's head up. He can't say 'it's okay' because it's not, and he certainly can't say 'you have nothing to be sorry for' because that's a lie. There's only one thing he can say that will help Kuroo along.

"You are forgiven."

Kuroo looks up, tears slowing as his eyes meet Kenma's.

"You are forgiven, do you understand?"

Slowly, he nods.

"Help me sit up."

Kuroo hesitates, hands shaking, but he follows the instruction. He moves at a snail's pace, being overly cautious as he moves Kenma's injured body. Kenma reaches out, ignoring the throb of pain in his chest as he lifts his arms, waiting for Kuroo to get the message.

Kuroo rests his head on Kenma's shoulder, careful not to aggravate his injury.

"I love you," Kenma says softly, turning his head so he can press a kiss to Kuroo's temple. Kuroo takes a shuddering breath before replying.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

So, here's the explanation behind Come to Bed, how Kenma got injured and a little bit more into the dialogue line about Kenma not seeing bloodlust in Kuroo's eyes.


	7. Containment - Kyoutani

Kyoutani's my new fave, and there's a KyoHaba week this month. So while this isn't KyouHaba, it's practice, and more background for the AU

* * *

Yahaba has long since stopped wincing when hears Kyoutani's bones snapping into place, now he just grimaces.

* * *

"Yahaba, are you sure you can handle him?"

"Don't I always?"

"Well, yes, but he's been getting worse lately."

"It's my job, Kunimi, I've always been able to handle him, and I always will be able to. If you have concerns you can always tell the King."

Yahaba pauses, waiting for Kunimi to try and stop him, but they only nod and move away, allowing Yahaba through. The walk down the third path is long and winding, Yahaba remembers when it was short, when he didn't have to go so far. But there isn't much he can do about it now, he doubts even their King could do anything. Even Iwaizumi is ineffective now.

The cave comes into sight just as Yahaba is wondering if he's moved it again.

"Kyoutani? Where are you?"

Yahaba flexes his hand a small flame ignites in his palm, illuminating the entirety of the cave. Nothing seems to have changed all that much; the walls are still worn smooth, save for the places covered in scratches, and it still lacks any kind of base comfort.

"You're early," says a gravelly voice from one of the cave shelves above Yahaba's head.

"Better early than late," he calls back.

Yahaba jumps, easily landing beside Kyoutani on the sizeable outcrop. He looks worse for wear, as is common in the summer, Yahaba has seen him looking worse however. His eyes are red rimmed, his usual shadowy bottom lid is pitch black and spreading like a raccoon's. He practically oozes fatigue, heavy limbed with a hazy glaze obscuring the usual hard light in his eyes. Kyoutani's been in the cave for the past few days; his anger seems to swell in the day leading to the shift and it's not good for him to be surrounded by others.

"You look terrible," Yahaba says.

"Shut up."

"How are you feeling?"

"Terrible."

The flowers dotting Kyoutani's body have already vanished, Yahaba can still see them writhing beneath his skin.

"Kentarou," he says sharply.

"What?" Kyoutani snaps, turning to face Yahaba and gnashing his teeth. His canines haven't changed yet but his lips are quivering; a telltale sign of just how far along he is.

"Don't."

Yahaba maintains eye contact, keeping his fire between the two of them so Kyoutani decides against charging at him. It's tense for all of seven seconds before Kyoutani deflates, shoulders drooping forward. Yahaba wills the fire down some, moves it to his other hand so he can move closer. He settles his free hand, still warm though some might argue that it's too hot, on Kyoutani's head, scratching lightly against his scalp.

"How bad is it right now?" he asks.

"It's a storm."

The system is something Iwaizumi came up with, when he figured Kyoutani's pain scale was on some incomprehensible level, either because his tolerance was so high, or he was incredibly disillusioned with what was 'a little' pain and 'I'm going to die, it hurts so much' pain. The system ranks pain based on weather and natural phenomenons. No pain is a sunny day, easily ignorable pain is a light rain, all the way up to tempest. But Kyoutani's at storm right now, storm level pain would likely have anyone else in their province unconscious, but Kyoutani's isn't showing anything. For him, it's taxing but manageable.

"Okay," Yahaba maintains a steady heat in his hand, moving from the top of Kyoutani's head to his neck. Kyoutani growls, more of a low rumble like thunder, but he stops once the warmth seeps into his skin a little. The flowers on Yahaba's skin begin to glow softly as he heats up.

They stay like that for some time, until the sun sets and the cave grows darker. Yahaba lets his fire die, and instead, his skin begins to glow, his flowers to. Gold intermingled with red, the very air around him grows hot as he lights up the shelf they're sitting on. He moves his hand away from Kyoutani, his proximity is enough for the warmth.

"Now?" Yahaba prompts, his irises changing from brown to a mixture of orange and red as the glow brightens a fraction.

"Almost a tempest," Kyoutani whispers.

The change is always gradual, stretching out the pain and increasing it with every second. His bones crack and his muscles tear as his entire body rearranges himself. Right before his pain reaches tempest level, Kyoutani oftens looks as though he wouldn't mind death. His eyes are straining and it's easy to see that he's suffering.

Just as the waves of pain reach their crescendo, Kyoutani lets out a scream. The wail is warbled and distorted, his vocal chords are shifting with the rest of him, but he keeps screaming until the shift ends.

Yahaba's still glowing, glowing brighter now that Kyoutani's finally shifted. The being before him only has Kyoutani's eyes. Though forest aligned like the rest of their province, Kyoutani's the only half beast, just as Yahaba is the only one partially aligned with fire. Kyoutani's beast is that of a wolf, but it's not a proper wolf, the shift is cruel and it's not that seamless. His fur is dark, streaked in gold, and shaggy, Yahaba would call it unkempt. His teeth are uneven, large canines protruding unevenly in a way that can't be comfortable. Like this, Kyoutani's bigger than Yahaba, could easily tear him limb from limb if not for the glow he's emitting.

Yahaba can see the massive scars stretching across Kyoutani's back. They're ugly and jagged, and they're from one of Kyoutani's first shifts with Yahaba.

That time, in the middle of shifting, Kyoutani had managed to contort himself enough to rake his partially formed claws across his back, perhap in some misguided attempt to punish himself. Yahaba still doesn't know. Kyoutani had ripped up his muscles and was bleeding heavily by the time the shift finished. Yahaba had to cauterize the gashes, which made the whole night even worse because Kyoutani was even more aggressive.

Slowly, Yahaba stands, knowing full well that Kyoutani will see it as an offense. Sure enough, Kyoutani growls at him, an earthquake and thunderclaps and the roars of thousands of beasts, all rumbling through his chest. He fixes his eyes on Yahaba, regards him warily, much like he had when they first met.

Iwaizumi had seen Kyoutani on patrol, and after a few weeks of building rapport, Kyoutani agreed to join their province. Apparently he'd not belonged to any province before then and had been cave hopping. He wasn't entirely fond of Oikawa, though the latter will deny that if asked, but he stuck by Iwaizumi's side. When his first shift happened, he'd nearly killed Kindaichi, and he gave Kunimi a nasty scar on their right leg; no flowers had grown there since. Yahaba had reacted on instinct alone, summoning a small blaze in his hand, effectively holding Kyoutani's attention. They'd spent all of ten hours like that, facing each other, cautiously moving as the other did, the only thing between Yahaba and certain death was the fire in his hand.

It's a little different now. Kyoutani's shifts have gotten worse, and Yahaba's powers have grown stronger. The glow he's emitting has a calming effect, enough to ensure enough reaction time should Kyoutani try to attack him. In turn, Kyoutani's nearly caused the cave to collapse before, letting out a growl that shook the rock walls. Kyoutani trained with Iwaizumi enough that he managed to legitimately align himself. His power was ridiculous then, and it's concerning now.

Yahaba takes a step forward, summoning a flame to his hand. It's fast, urged on by his temperature, and is fully ablaze in an instant. Kyoutani's eyes leave Yahaba's for only a second, and the latter takes another step. He's safely within Kyoutani's comfort zone now.

Kyoutani hasn't moved much, aside from raising his hackles like he's prepared to leap, but Yahaba has just enough faith in his ability to believe that won't happen. With all the progress they've made, he'd hate for it to be ruined in one night.

As he advances, he begins to reach out to Kyoutani with the fire, watching his eyes and waiting for the break. Sometimes the break takes minutes, other times hours. Luckily, it's seconds this time around.

Kyoutani drops, suddenly boneless, he looks up at Yahaba and whines. Kneeling down, keeping himself above Kyoutani, Yahaba places his free hand in Kyoutani's fur, lightly scratching. His temperature at this point would burn anything else, but it's a comfortable kind of warmth for Kyoutani when he's a beast. It'll only last for a little while, they still have the whole night ahead of him, and Kyoutani will undoubtedly try to keep himself in the break mentality, but his beast isn't exactly fond of submitting. Kyoutani, as himself, isn't either, but it's better than feeling the bone aching chill that comes with his shift.

Yahaba shakes away the fire, his glow will be enough for a little while.

The peace lasts for about a half hour before Kyoutani suddenly growls. He leaps up, off the shelf, and tries to run for the cave entrance. Yahaba stretches his palm towards Kyoutani. The fire leaps forward, creating a layer of barriers that block the entrance, one wall of flames lands a heart beat in front of Kyoutani. He leaps back and sneezes, startled. Yahaba would find it cute if not for the fact that a split second later, Kyoutani's got his murderous gaze directed at him.

The growl that rumbles in Kyoutani's chest makes the walls shake, not enough to bring any rocks down on top of them, but enough to cause concern. Yahaba jumps from the shelf, landing a somewhat safe distance away. The flames swell with his breathing, he knows Kyoutani will pick up on that in a few moments, and hopefully it'll calm him down some.

They stand there, staring at each other and, slowly, Yahaba makes the flames smaller. This time, it's Kyoutani that moves closer. His eyes are set on the hand Yahaba's summoned fire with, and Yahaba's only a little concerned about that. When Kyoutani's close enough to touch, he noses at Yahaba's hand a moment before taking it into his mouth and gnawing on it lightly, not hard enough to hurt in any kind of way. Yahaba's not entirely sure what he's supposed to do, because Kyoutani's not being aggressive, and it doesn't actually hurt at all. The decision is made for him when Kyoutani decides his hand isn't very good and lets go of it.

Yahaba's still not sure what to think, but he'll lord that over Kyoutani for eternity.

Kyoutani tries to escape only two more times, shake the walls once more, and he manages to scratch Yahaba's arm, thankfully missing the flowers, but it still stings. Then he leaps back up onto the shelf and lays down, whining pitifully until Yahaba rejoins him. Yahaba dims his glow some, lowering his temperature. Kyoutani seems to take a sudden interest in Yahaba's flowers, something he's never done before, sniffing at them. He tries to lick one and Yahaba instinctually thumps his forehead when the action sends sparks down his spine. He freezes, but Kyoutani only sneezes and drops his head.

As the time draws nearer to his shift back, Kyoutani starts to get antsy again. The pain is thrumming to life, but Kyoutani can't talk as he is so Yahaba has no idea how bad it is.

Kyoutani jumps from the shelf again but doesn't try to bolt, he just starts pacing back and forth, pawing angrily at the ground. Yahaba joins him shortly after. Though it doesn't happen often, Kyoutani ha started scratching and biting himself before, that hadn't ended well either.

His agitation grows as the minutes wear on and Yahaba almost calls a flame to his hands.

When the shifts starts, Kyoutani begins to howl and shortly after, the walls begin to shake again. Yahaba step closer, Kyoutani's too absorbed in the shift to bother with him. He kneels down, quickly cupping Kyoutani's head and twisting his fingers into his fur to hold him in place.

Yahaba has long since stopped wincing when hears Kyoutani's bones snapping into place, now he just grimaces.

The shift back always takes longer, Kyoutani's told him it feels like dying, but soon enough, the beast is gone.

Understandably, Kyoutani is unconscious. As the fur disappears, the flowers take its place, surging upwards to make up for lost time. Yahaba's tired but he still has to carry Kyoutani back, so he heaves him onto his shoulder and begins the walk.

Kunimi's waiting by the main territory line, a weary smile on their lips.

"How was it? We could feel the tremors all the way out here."

"Could have been worse, could have been better," Yahaba shrugs, shifting Kyoutani around as he begins to slip.

"What happened to your arm?"

"Just a scratch, I'll have Oikawa check it out after I drop Kyoutani off with Iwaizumi."

Kunimi nods and waves their hand, opening up a Yahaba and Kyoutani sized hole in the magic shield so the two of them can pass through.

Kyoutani mumbles something against Yahaba's back but he isn't sure what it is.


	8. The Barons' Meeting - BokuAka

Some more BokuAka stuff, plus some more info for the AU. Also, finally back to checklist stuff.

* * *

The bi-monthly Barons' Meeting ends abruptly when discussions get heated, and personal.

* * *

Bokuto wakes to see Akaashi's face illuminated by the morning sun. His breath catches in his throat when he sees the small glowing flower sprouting from Akaashi's shoulder.

Akashi told him about the flowers; said they grew sometimes, unpredictably. Another flower is winding up from his spine; the more sunlight spills into the room, the more flowers blossom from Akaashi's skin. After a few minutes more, his eyes open, glowing slightly as they tend to do when he's tired.

"Good morning," Akaashi says, closing his eyes and snuggling closer to Bokuto.

"Good morning."

Bokuto traces his fingers between the flowers, dancing them up and down Akaashi's back. He feels a short shiver, a hot puff of breath, before Akaashi grumbles.

"Koutarou," he says to Bokuto's throat.

"Yes?"

"Cut it out."

Bokuto stops but settles his arm around Akaashi's waist, pressing his palm flat against the slight dip in the other's lower back.

"I love you," Bokuto says, pulling Akaashi closer.

"Mm, I love you too, now let me go back to sleep."

Bokuto's more than content to indulge the other, but they do have to get up soon. The Barons' Meeting isn't exactly something he's allowed to miss and, as his second, Akaashi isn't either.

They were one of the first Districts to arrive. Kuroo and Kai were already there, along with Moniwa and Kamasaki. All the others arrived by nightfall, some were present at dinner while others retired early, exhausted from the extent of their travel.

Sawamura's second hadn't questioned Akaashi's asking if they could have a room where the windows faced the sunrise. Sugawara had only smiled, saying he knew the perfect room. Though Akaashi's only a quarter spirit, the rising sun does give him some energy, keeps his flowers healthy.

Bokuto think so anyways, he's not entirely sure on the specifics, and whenever he asks Akaashi he just receives a quiet smile and a kiss on his nose.

When they absolutely can't afford to waste anymore time, Bokuto says another good morning to Akaashi, reminding him about the Baron Meeting.

"Hmm?" Akaashi mumbles. Some of his flower start shrinking, but some stay where they are, stubborn.

"We have to get ready," Bokuto scatters kisses around Akaashi's face until his eyes flutter open, they've lost their glow by this point.

"I'm awake," Akaashi assures him.

Bokuto can make himself presentable in little less than ten minutes, but Akaashi isn't very fond of mornings, and takes a little longer. Before putting on a shirt, he sits on the floor in front of the window, rolling his shoulders as the sun light hits his skin. He arches his back towards it, breathing slowly for a few minutes before standing.

* * *

Upon seeing Kuroo, Bokuto all but dances into the room, throwing his arm over his friend's shoulder. Akaashi sits down, setting his papers on the table, offering a small smile to Sugawara.

He's always found it a little strange that Sawamura has two Seconds, which kind of denotes the title, but after a few meetings, Akaashi had found that he was quite fond of the two. Sugawara is always friendly, and Kiyoko somehow manages to control the room when its occupants get too troublesome. If he's being honest, Akaashi's almost completely sure that Kiyoko holds more sway than Sawamura does.

The meeting commences with its usual greetings and formalities. Sawamura leads, calling each Baron to update the others with any new information within their District. They go around the tables, most of the Seconds take notes, the Barons listen. They talk of trade channels and minor discrepancies among the populous. They make plans for the upcoming festivals and alterations for the training regimens of the military. There's even talk of a convention of sorts to conglomerate knowledge.

After everybody has said their piece, they fall into silence. Akaashi knows the next topic, thinks he knows why Sawamura is hesitating to continue. The Crow District is a particularly open district, most Districts are nowadays, but it sits on the boundary line of a forest that has the highest concentration of spirits any of them have ever seen. His own District, and Kuroo's, fall on the same boundary line, but not to the same extent as the Crow District.

Just a week previous, there had been a massive explosion on the outskirts of the forest, just outside an agricultural village. The blast had been contained by an unknown fire aligned spirit and some seconds after, a growl like a thunderclap carried across the village. The news had spread across the Districts like a sickness, after a few days all of the Barons had been informed.

Sawamura shuffles his papers and Akaashi almost jumps when he hears Ushijima's heavy sigh.

"Diplomacy has never worked before, the only logical move forward is a show of dominance."

"We aren't attacking them!" Bokuto snaps, slamming his palm down on the table. Akaashi touches his shoulder, barely enough pressure to be noticeable, but enough to calm him down. "The only reason diplomacy has never worked is because is because we never try!"

"I doubt the incident was intended to be an act of aggression," Sawamura cuts in. Akaashi sees his arm move a fraction, holding Sugawara's hand underneath the table.

Already, some of the Barons are getting antsy.

"It happened within the forest line, nobody was injured, and the damage was minimal and not crippling to the land it affected," Kiyoko's voice is the cool tone of reason, unfortunately, not everyone shares her sentiment.

"Yes, but it just proves that there are unstable spirits," Moniwa says, leaning forward to rest his arms on the table. "If enough of them band together, they'll pose a significant threat."

Akaashi doesn't think Moniwa has much to worry about, his District is nothing less than a fortress, he's nowhere near any spirit provinces.

"There's a king, right?" Kuroo points out, "Or some kind of monarch, I'm sure they deal with these issues, probably is currently dealing with them."

Suga looks uneasy, Akaashi catches his eye across the table and nods his head in what he hopes is a reassuring way.

"Well, he's not doing his job whoever he his," Terushima says.

Bokuto's knee is bouncing beneath the table. He's their general, sure, but staying still for so long combined with a touchy subject, he's beginning to lose composure. Akaashi takes a card from Sawamura and takes Bokuto's hand, rubbing slow circles into his skin.

"It would be wise to increase the patrol of the forest perimeter," Ushijima says. "There are partial spirits who have integrated into our Districts and there is a chance they are in contact with those living in the forest. The Crow, Cat, and Owl Districts are at most risk, being so close."

By now, Akaashi wants to yell. Like Moniwa, Ushijima doesn't have to worry about mass populations of only time either of them have even come close is hearing stories of the war from their grandfathers. Akaashi's grandmother had been forced out of her province, ostracized for falling in love with a human. Partial spirits are mostly unwelcome in their provinces, and have no choice but to enter life amongst humans. He knows Ushijima is just trying to be tactical, objective, but it still makes him angry.

He's about to voice his opinions but Sawamura speaks up before he gets the chance, actually standing up.

"Are you trying to imply something? Simply being farther from the forest means nothing."

"I'm not implying anything."

The other Barons break into argument with one another, even Bokuto joins the fray. But Akaashi's attention is on Sugawara. The poor man looks as though he's just been slapped, Sawamura isn't holding his hand anymore, and judging by the slight tremors in his arm, it's shaking. Taking a matter personally usually doesn't mean much, but this particular matter...

"-preventative measures?"

"Identify partial spirits. I'm not suggesting imprisoning them, or anything to that extreme, but we should at least attempt to build a list of potential-"

Akaashi feels his flowers burn, thorns digging into his skin as they writhe angrily. Absently, he reaches for Bokuto's leg, only to find that he's standing up, arguing with some other Baron. Akaashi isn't even sure who's talking.

"No!" again, Bokuto slams his hand against the table, "This is too rash! We have no evidence of an impending attack. Aside from a few incidents with rogue spirits, thing have been completely peaceful. You can't punish the many for the deeds of a few. Partial spirits have absolutely no reason to want to help rogues attack our Districts, they live here! What could they possibly hope to accomplish?"

"As I recall, Bokuto, sometime ago, you would have agreed with the majority on this matter."

"That means absolutely nothing. Opinions change, and all I'm saying is that, for the longest time, the spirits have been peaceful."

Bokuto sits down in a huff, taking Akaashi's hand almost immediately as the room becomes dead silent.

"I think it would be for the best that we finish for the day. Clear your heads, check your aggression, we will pick back up tomorrow," Kiyoko says, snapping everyone's attention to her.

There's a moment of hesitation, but then Terushima stands up and everyone else follows suit. Akaashi stays where he is though, and Bokuto stays with him, which causes Kuroo to hesitate in leaving.

"Sugawara," Akaashi says once the room is mostly empty.

"Yes?"

"I wonder if I could talk to you a moment?" He waves Bokuto out with a smile, and Kuroo goes with him. Sawamura hesitates but Sugawara nods, giving his Baron a gentle shove.

When everyone's out, Sugawara lets out a quiet sigh.

"I don't think I've ever seen a meeting this heated," he says.

"I would have to agree with you."

"So, Akaashi, what can I do for you?"

Instead of answering, Akaashi shrugs off his cloak and rucks up the back of his shirt. The flowers strain a moment, getting used to not being cramped anymore. He turns so Sugawara can see, and once he's sure the moment of confusion has passed, he turns back around.

"I figured the look of distress on your face during the meeting was similar to my own. It's an educated guess and nothing more."

Sugawara's speechless.

Akaashi knows he's not wrong. He doubts Sugawara's forest aligned though, likely water or wind if he has to guess. There's always been something about Sugawara that Akaashi found strange, the hunch that the other is a partial spirit came about some meetings ago. It had been raining and Sugawara had been bone dry.

"Now, you," Akaashi prompts.

Sugawara looks around a moment, for what though Akaashi doesn't know. After a moment, Sugawara settles on Sawamura's water cup from the meeting.

Intently, Akaashi watches as Sugawara manages to raise a few fingers of water from the cup. It dances under his command, but it does seem a bit unstable. After a moment, he dips his hand in the cup and when he brings it back out, it's glossy and covered in scales that disappears as the water dries.

"It's still a work in progress, uh, my great grandmother was water aligned."

"Forest aligned, my grandmother."

"Who knows?"

"Only Bokuto, I'm assuming Sawamura knows?"

"Yes."

Akaashi nods. The Crow District, despite its rapid growth in the past years, is still relatively lacking in influential power. Sawamura usually hosts the Baron Meetings now, but that doesn't mean much.

"Do not worry Sugawara. We will make sure nothing happens. I've been the Head Strategist for quite some time now, and I do hold a certain amount of sway, as does Bokuto. And your Sawamura is gaining respect. This whole matter will get sorted out."

"Right."


	9. The Old Spirits - IwaOi

So here's a bit of background for Oikawa and Iwaizumi, chronologically, this one is the first story.

* * *

Where Oikawa walks mere breaths above the ground, Iwaizumi plants his feet firmly, but leaves no trace. Where Oikawa is lighter than air, Iwaizumi is as heavy as the boulders that sometimes roll down the mountains. Where Oikawa can stir up winds mighty enough to rip the trees out of the ground, Iwaizumi can create chasms in the rock or start earthquakes on a whim. Oikawa's voice is smooth, and it floats about empty space, Iwaizumi's voice rolls, rumbling like a landslide.

* * *

"Who are you?"

Oikawa's never seen this spirit before. There's no way he's an ordinary spirit, the lack of flowers knocks out the possibility of a forest manifestation. Besides, it's too early for spirits to be manifesting themselves, Oikawa's only just grown the forest, manifestation won't happen for another few decades. And even when that does happen, they'll isolate themselves until their numbers grow enough to build a province, no way this one would seek him out.

But it's the presence that worries Oikawa.

He can feel it, the gentle but far encompassing presence that seems as immovable as the earth beneath Oikawa's feet. He might even be as strong, or stronger, than Oikawa.

"I should ask you the same question," the spirit replies easily. He doesn't sound particularly rude, but Oikawa's not exactly looking for utter submission.

"I am Oikawa, I grew this forest. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"You grew the forest?"

"Yes."

Oikawa doesn't know if he should ask more questions or get hostile. He can do hostile, he can do violent. He's an Old Spirit, and even if this newcomer is as powerful as Oikawa thinks, he has the sky and the forest on his side.

"I am Iwaizumi, I am here to create a mountain range."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

That confirms Oikawa's suspicions. If Iwaizumi has enough power to raise a mountain range from the earth, then he's most certainly an Old Spirit. There's no harm in a mountain range, the forest is expansive and it's not like he wasn't expecting new features to shape the land. He just didn't expect to come face to face with the spirit who was responsible. The most concerning thing is that if Iwaizumi's raising mountains, then he's well and truly aligned to earth. Oikawa's aligned to wind, to the sky, but his power gives him dominion over the trees as well.

As they are, their opposing elements could cause catastrophic events. The distance they're at now, Oikawa can't even make out Iwaizumi's facial features properly, is fine. But should Iwaizumi move closer, should they touch, the entire forest could be destroyed.

Oikawa doesn't want to see his life's work blasted away.

"Very well," Oikawa says.

He thinks Iwaizumi smiles, but he's walking off into the trees before he's sure.

* * *

Oikawa watches from the highest tree he grew.

Iwaizumi's been at work for a few days now, and the mountains are climbing higher and higher into the sky. There are no humans near the forest, but there will be settlements soon enough. The mountains will be done before then, there's no question, but Oikawa's grown inexplicably fond of seeing their progression.

When they're finally done, Oikawa catches a steady breeze between the trees to see them up close. Iwaizumi's sitting at the foot of the first range, in the same place they'd met, and Oikawa sits himself down in a tree.

"Will these allow earth aligned spirits to manifest?" he calls.

Iwaizumi doesn't jump, but he does stand up and turn to face Oikawa. They both know well enough to stay where they are. It's not an issue, the wind will carry Oikawa's voice and bring Iwaizumi's back.

"No, earth spirits haven't naturally manifested in decades. If any spirits manifest in the forest, they might learn as a secondary alignment, but that's it."

Wind spirits manifest themselves all the time, a few every year or so. They usually start by plummeting out of the sky but that's besides the point. If Iwaizumi raised the mountains in a vain attempt at urging secondary alignments, then it really isn't a good sign.

"I'm sorry," Oikawa says, it's not like he can say anything else.

Iwaizumi just shrugs.

* * *

Oikawa takes to watching Iwaizumi, from a distance of course. There's something fascinating about him. He has no flowers on him, and Oikawa's never dealt with a purely earth aligned spirit, and an Old Spirit at that. He's practically the exact opposite of Oikawa.

Where Oikawa walks mere breaths above the ground, Iwaizumi plants his feet firmly, but leaves no trace. Where Oikawa is lighter than air, Iwaizumi is as heavy as the boulders that sometimes roll down the mountains. Where Oikawa can stir up winds mighty enough to rip the trees out of the ground, Iwaizumi can create chasms in the rock or start earthquakes on a whim. Oikawa's voice is smooth, and it floats about empty space, Iwaizumi's voice rolls, rumbling like a landslide.

It's fascinating

He's pretty sure Iwaizumi knows, it's a big forest and they could easily live out the rest of their days without ever seeing each other. The wind always follows Oikawa, it ruffles his hair and it's easy to sense if there's no other breeze anywhere else.

Iwaizumi knows, Oikawa knows that.

They both pretend the other doesn't.

* * *

Oikawa takes a dip in the lake. It's owned by a lovely water spirit with silver hair who's charged with all the rivers, she'd been perfectly fine with Oikawa growing part of the forest around her water. She's very friendly and very rarely leaves her lake, though Oikawa's coaxed her out on land to dance with him once.

His flowers retreat as he slips further into the water, and the wind vanishes. He's too light to do much, he can't dive down and he can barely get his head wet, but it's enough for him to float. He could easily pass years like this, drifting along without worry. It's peaceful.

Until he crashes right into the edge of the lake. Swearing, he rubs his head and treads water properly, not that he really needs to.

He hears laughing and his first thought is that water spirits don't usually sound so deep.

Iwaizumi's sitting just off the shore line, laughing like he hasn't got a care in the world. It's a pretty laugh, definitely not as deep or dangerous as Oikawa would have assumed. There is, however, a slight tremor running through the ground from where Iwaizumi sits. Oikawa swims over to a softer part of the shore and props himself up on his arms.

"You find it so funny, you can come join me," he calls. Iwaizumi takes his time calming down. The tremor comes to a stop and Oikawa finds he wants it back.

It was soothing, in a way.

"As nice as that sounds, I can't."

"And why not?"

"I'll sink like a rock."

It's not entirely surprising, but Oikawa's a little disappointed.

"Can you get wet?"

"Yes," Iwaizumi sounds hesitant, like he might know what Oikawa's thinking. Not giving him a chance to put everything together, Oikawa sweeps a sharp wind through the water, creating a wave that rises above the shore to drench Iwaizumi.

Then they're both laughing.

* * *

It happens slowly.

Oikawa starts to test the distance. He comes closer every day, waiting for something bad to happen. A few strides from Iwaizumi and the mountains hum while the breeze becomes noticeable. One stride away, there's a mild wind and the earth shakes slightly under their feet. An arm's length away and it hurts to open their eyes against the wind beating down, Oikawa's unaffected by the tremors as he never touches the ground, but the trees in the immediate vicinity fall down, roots up.

Oikawa stops after that. He keeps a safe distance. He swims in the lake and Iwaizumi sits on the shore with his legs in the water. They take walks and Oikawa shows Iwaizumi some of the flowers he's cultivating. As animals arrive over the years, Iwaizumi teaches him how to speak to them. He's not very good at it, animal speaking is an earth aligned trait, but he can understand a few things here and there.

"He says your hair looks funny," Iwaizumi says one day, holding a small creature. Oikawa's not entirely sure what it is, it's some kind of ground rodent, he really doesn't know.

They're sitting in a small clearing. Oikawa's been scouting out province areas, this one is the most promising. It's equidistant from a river and from Iwaizumi's mountains, it's not quite centrally located but he likes that. He's inspecting some flowers, he'd sensed some rot earlier in the day and wants to make sure it won't spread.

"Has he seen yours?" Oikawa huffs. His reaction is enough to draw a short chuckle from Iwaizumi.

"He also says thank you for growing the forest."

The little rodent jumps out of Iwaizumi's hands and scuttles over to Oikawa, a small flower in his mouth. He leaves the flower on Oikawa's knee before running at full speed back to Iwaizumi.

"Well, his flattery will allow him to stay I suppose."

Iwaizumi laughs again and Oikawa wants to move closer. He wants to feel the rumble of it in Iwaizumi's chest. But he's too far away.

And he hates that.

* * *

The idea comes to him in the dead of night. He shoots out of his tree and goes off in search of Iwaizumi, stopping himself at the proper distance so fast he strains his neck. Not able to shake Iwaizumi awake, he directs a strong current of air in his direction, lifting him off the ground only to drop him back a second later.

Iwaizumi scrambles to his feet in an instant, ready to fight whoever it is assailing him.

"Oikawa? What do you want?"

"Partial kinship."

"What?"

"We're Old Spirits, so we can't have total secondary alignments, but we can have kinship. Pact wise, we can do that."

Oikawa's out of breath, which is a new feeling for him, his cheeks are flushed and there's a delirious light in his eyes. Iwaizumi's only staring, slowly taking in the information he's just been given.

"I- That could kill us, Oikawa- opposition this strong happens for a reason, if we even attempt-"

"It's not for sure it could kill us!"

"But it could! Then what? You grew the forest and I made the mountains, the new manifestations will need someone who can teach them. If we're dead, then what? Why would you even think about this-"

"I want to feel you laugh!"

There are tears in his eyes, and that's not normal, but it's definitely not new.

"I want to be able to hold you without worrying that I'll destroy the forest! I want you, can't you see that!"

Iwaizumi just stares.

* * *

It takes two and a half years. Two and a half years to wear Iwaizumi down enough. Two and a half years to get him to agree to kinship. Two and a half years of wishing and imagining what it would be like to finally be able to get close to Iwaizumi.

They have to leave the forest, leave the mountains, to get permission.

Secondary alignments can be chosen and taught to newly manifested spirits. Those who manifest in the forest will automatically have a forest alignment, but they can be taught a secondary element. Any more than that and they could become unstable. But it's different for Old Spirits, they've existed since before the elements ever mixed. They simply don't have the capacity for secondary alignments. But they can maybe have kinships. For them, that means a pact with the other element, they won't get the abilities associated, but they won't be opposed.

And that's all Oikawa wants.

When it happens, Oikawa almost regrets his decision.

He's not sure who's screaming more; him or Iwaizumi? But it feels as though he's being cut open and his insides are being scraped out. It feels like he's drowning, like he's falling, like he's burning; all at once. The edge of his vision is black, and just as he's about to back out, to stop this whole process and throw it away, it ends.

He collapses immediately, he can't feel his legs, or anything else for that matter. He can't hear anything either and his vision is blurry, the echoes of pain still ring out through his body. He heaves in air, he cries, he doesn't even know how Iwaizumi is.

Oikawa comes to some hours later. He's moving, being carried thinks, and when he opens his eyes he sees Iwaizumi there. There's pain in his eyes, and his hands shake where they hold Oikawa, but he's not letting go. Oikawa starts to cry, lifts his too heavy arms to wrap around Iwaizumi's neck because he can. He can touch Iwaizumi and nothing's getting destroyed, there air isn't beating down on them and the ground isn't opening up to swallow them.

It feels right.

Iwaizumi keeps walking, he carries Oikawa all the way to the clearing before his strength finally runs out and he drops. The dull ache that comes when they hit the ground is nothing compared to what they've just been through, so Oikawa just winces and holds Iwaizumi tight to his chest.

* * *

If you guys are curious about anything, please ask! This story is totally up for reader dictation, so if you want to know how a certain character plays into the thing, you can ask on tumblr and that short will become top priority. The users are in my profile, and you can find more info on the blog!


	10. The Half Beast - Kyoutani

This was supposed to be short, oh well. Here's some more for the Spirit AU, more on Kyoutani and the Aoba Johsai Province!

* * *

There isn't much known about half beasts, only that they don't live long. The self enforced solitary and pain, coupled with an excess of volatile magic makes them unstable, and eventually kills them after only a couple of centuries, not long at all.

* * *

If this keeps up, he'll have to stop going on patrol.

Iwaizumi sits in front of the small cave, sending out calming pulses through the stone. The spirit is watching him, eyes wide and glowing. For an instant, Iwaizumi sees bright blue eyes peering out at him from the hollow of a tree, but he shakes his head.

There's nothing to be done about that.

This spirit is different, the thrumming song that resides in all spirits tells him what they are. Oikawa's song is light and airy, with a strong undercurrent that nearly frightened Iwaizumi away the first time they met. The rest of them, Matsukawa and Hanamaki, Kunimi and the rest, their songs tell of the forest, each with an accompanying piece for their secondary alignment.

The spirit has the melody of the forest, and the quiet rumbling that Iwaizumi's matched to earth aligned spirits, but there's something else, something he hasn't heard before. It's not the first time he's sensed a difference in song, but that was something else entirely. It almost feels like another song entirely, humming quietly below the surface.

All the same, another earth alignment is exciting.

A growl, low and rumbling, pours from the spirit's mouth and Iwaizumi mimics it perfectly.

A couple of song birds and rabbits had been reporting a new spirit manifestation for some time now, but for whatever reason, Iwaizumi's never been able to find them until now.

"I'm Iwaizumi. I'm the knight of the forest, according to some anyways. I can bring you to my province if you want? There's only a few of us right now, eight, including myself."

The spirit has yet to move out of the darkness of the cave, so Iwaizumi keeps talking. He tells the spirit how he raised the mountains, and of the Old Spirits, and dwindling earth manifestations.

It takes four hours, but the spirit leans into the sunlight.

The spirit is dotted in dark green leaves and soft pink flowers, some of them twisting into dark hair perforated with shining golden petals. Their eyes are still glowing, bright and golden and Iwaizumi stows away the memories he has of blue eyes.

* * *

The spirit's name is Kyoutani, Iwaizumi learns after a week. After two weeks, Kyoutani willingly talks to him. By three weeks, Iwaizumi's helping him train inside the caves.

"I've never seen anyone else," Kyoutani mumbles, shifting a stone back and forth.

"Really?"

"I stay in the caves, it's quiet here."

Iwaizumi nods and eases back to lean against the stone wall.

"My offer still stands, you know? There are two others around your same manifestation, two older, and three-two, two who are a bit younger."

"I don't know."

"It's your choice."

* * *

Oikawa doesn't take the news well, it's understandable really, and Iwaizumi can't blame him.

He's stony and quiet, eyes swirling as the wind whirls around them.

"Hajime."

Iwaizumi is gambling with his words, but he knows what Oikawa is thinking.

"He's not Tobio."

The wind kicks up several notches.

"That's not-"

"Yes it was."

Iwaizumi's getting ready to go get Kyoutani, the younger spirit had wanted some time to himself before, to prepare. He's waiting by a river junction.

"This isn't a good idea," Oikawa tries. Iwaizumi ignores him though and Oikawa huffs a heavy gust of air in irritation. Unbothered, Iwaizumi begins walking.

"Last time-"

"Last time was both of our faults. Just because it didn't work then doesn't mean we can't help Kyoutani."

"He's a half beast- listen- Hajime, listen to me!"

Iwaizumi stops.

The wind is whipping up Oikawa's hair, rattling the trees and flinging small stones every which way. Oikawa steps forward to settle his hand on Iwaizumi's shoulder.

"Yes, what happened with Kageyama was an accident. But I will _not_ threaten the safety of my- of our province by bringing in someone who could easily destroy everything we've built! Kunimi and Kindaichi already have troubles with magical instability, and Yahaba's only just getting proper control of his fire-"

"Better for Kyoutani to be some place where his beast can be contained. If he raises himself, you know that all of that negative energy will turn him rogue. It will kill him, we both know what happens to half beasts."

Iwaizumi still hasn't looked at him, he isn't moving, as sure and stable as the element he embodies.

Oikawa sighs and the wind drops dramatically to a slow breeze.

* * *

"What if I hurt someone?" Kyoutani asks as they walk.

"You won't."

"But what if I do?"

"We know a lovely water spirit with amazing healing abilities."

Kyoutani doesn't look amused, so Iwaizumi stops talking, stops walking.

"If someone gets hurt, it will be an accident, you are not the beast, so it won't be your fault. Everyone has been spoken to, they understand. If you're worried, then we can work something out closer to your shift, I'll handle it personally if it will make you feel better."

He waits until Kyoutani looks at him. When he does, they begin walking again.

* * *

Iwaizumi's not the only one to notice the wind kicking up. Yahaba gives him a concerned look when they step into the main clearing.

"Where's Oikawa?"

"Somewhere," Yahaba shrugs, flowers glowing nervously, "It's been pretty windy around here since you left, Hanamaki got hit the forehead with a pebble."

"That's his own fault, he's perfectly capable of dispersing the wind around him," Iwaizumi shakes his head and steps aside so Yahaba can see Kyoutani.

"Kyoutani, this is Yahaba. Yahaba, this is Kyoutani."

Yahaba's eyes swirl from orange to red for a moment, absently calculating before he straightens up and holds out a hand.

"Nice to meet you," he says.

Kyoutani doesn't move an inch until Iwaizumi gives him a small nudge forward.

"Introduce him to the others, I'm going to see if I can get Oikawa to calm down."

Once Kyoutani finally follows Yahaba to another part of the clearing, Iwaizumi turns and begins walking. There's really only one place that Oikawa will be.

His tree.

It only takes a few minutes, and once Oikawa sees Iwaizumi, he jumps down the branches and stands beside him. The wind is still angry, and it seems intent on blowing directly into Iwaizumi's face.

"Where is he?" Oikawa asks.

"He's with Yahaba, meeting everyone else." Iwaizumi cross his arms as the wind kicks up even more, trying to knock him off his feet.

They stand there, silent and waiting, until Oikawa leans to rest his head against Iwaizumi's shoulder, the wind dying instantly.

"I don't want things to be like they were," he says softly. "They got along great with Kunimi and Kindaichi, but- I didn't really help them, did I? I just let them alone and then they were gone. I don't want to be the reason that another spirit..."

Iwaizumi nods, wrapping Oikawa in a hug.

"You won't be."

* * *

Iwaizumi and Oikawa are away, dealing with with rumors of humans damaging the forest. They should be back soon however, after nearly a week of absence.

Without his mediator, Kyoutani keeps to himself. He's successful until the second day, when Yahaba drags him away from his new hollow. Iwaizumi had encouraged him to socialize while he and Oikawa were away. Ever since he arrived, Kyoutani's done almost nothing but train with Iwaizumi, dedicated to learning earth magic.

But now Yahaba's tugging him along, those stupid red flowers glowing while his eyes change color. Yahaba's warm, and Kyoutani's a liar if he says he doesn't like it some, he's sensitive to the temperature, always too cold. Apparently Yahaba is always warm, Kunimi told him a few days ago that they use Yahaba to fall asleep easier whenever Oikawa's in a mood and it's too windy.

They're sitting in a circle, all of them minus Hanamaki and Matsukawa. Kyoutani isn't really sure where the two are, but Watari had said something about them trying pull pranks on their resident water spirit. Kunimi sits against Kindaichi, dozing off while a gentle breeze toys with the flowers along their neck.

Kyoutani's irate, for some reason he's not entirely sure. But it takes him a moment to recognize the heavy heat in his chest and the pressure behind his eyes. His pain tolerance is high, it has to be because the shift tears his muscles and breaks his bones. It still hurts, but the minutes leading up to the shift feel numb at this point.

The sun is going down.

"Yahaba," he says, hating that fact that his voice breaks as he feels his hip bones starting to shift.

"Hmm?"

Kyoutani doesn't get a chance to respond because he falls back, the earth shaking beneath him. The first bone cracks and Kindaichi jumps back, upsetting Kunimi.

There's too many spirits. Kyoutani's always been alone during the shifts. But there's too much. The smells of all of them, the possibilities concerning them. The beast is cautious, violently so, and it's more often than not just trying to protect itself. It's always better when he's alone, there's no one to hurt in the cave. It will be scared.

He doesn't want to hurt anybody.

"Go find Hanamaki and Matsukawa," someone yells, Kyoutani's not sure who.

"Yahaba, what are we supposed to do? Iwaizumi's not here, he's supposed to-"

"We'll just have to deal with it."

Kyoutani's not entirely sure what happens next, because his mind turns over.

* * *

Yahaba has no idea what they're supposed to do. The beast before them looks nothing like an actual animal, but it has Kyoutani's eyes.

Iwaizumi's supposed to be here, this is his job.

There isn't much known about half beasts, only that they don't live long. The self enforced solitary and pain, coupled with an excess of volatile magic makes them unstable, and eventually kills them after only a couple of centuries, not long at all. Iwaizumi had been sure that within a province, they could keep that from happening.

But Yahaba's unsure.

A gust of wind catches their attention, Kunimi pushes onto their feet.

"I think it's in our best interest to remain calm. Let's try not to spook him."

It's too late though, the beast is already spooked. There's too many of them, crowding him, the beast must take that to mean hostility. It doesn't help that their instinct is to fight.

It charges, barreling into Kunimi, singling them out at as the smallest, and the weakest apparently. Kunimi all but crumples when massive claws drag down his leg.

Then Kindaichi does something stupid.

* * *

After far too long, Watari finds Hanamaki and Matsukawa. Iwaizumi's been trying to teach him how to track, but he's not been able to pick it up.

"Kyoutani shifted!" he screams, " I don't know what's happening right now but it can't be good."

That seems to snap their attention. They share a look and Hanamaki shoots up into the air and over the trees to the main clearing. Watari and Matsukawa run side by side, moving as fast as they can, the earth pushing them along until they skid to a stop in the clearing.

It's dark by now, the sun just setting, so it's easy to see Yahaba's fire.

A ball of it, gold and orange and dangerous, engulfs his hand. He's standing in front of the Kyoutani's beast, the fire between them. If Kyoutani notices their arrival, he doesn't move.

"Get Kunimi and Kindaichi to Manami, hurry. Kindaichi needs a submergence, as quick as possible," Yahaba says, moving the flame slowly, drawing Kyoutani farther from the two injured spirits. Hanamaki picks up Kindaichi, thanking the Old Spirits that he's not earth aligned, and darts back to the river.

Watari takes Kunimi, and Matsukawa stays where he is. If anything goes wrong, Yahaba's going to need someone experienced to help him.

Hours pass, too many hours, before Kyoutani collapses. They both wince at the sound of his bones snapping back into place, all the cracking and tearing, a wet grind of bloodied fragments fusing back together.

Watari's already come back with a report that Kunimi is okay, and Kindaichi will be but he'll need rest. Hanamaki brings Kunimi back a short time later, and they won't say anything until they see Kyoutani. They sit beside him, petting his hair into some semblance of order.

"Your leg," Yahaba says.

"Manami fixed it up, I don't necessarily have to walk, I'll be fine," Kunimi says. "We should probably move him into a more comfortable position."

Mutsukawa does it, Kunimi can't lift him and Yahaba's exhausted from sustaining a blaze that wanted to escape the entire time.

The only thing left to do is tell Oikawa when he returns.

And no one is looking forward to that.

* * *

Oikawa is livid when they come back only a few hours later.

Kyoutani is still unconscious, Yahaba's still on the ground beside him with Kunimi.

But now, Yahaba doesn't hesitate to stand up, putting himself on the defense, moving in front of Kyoutani, blocking him from Oikawa.

"It wasn't his fault," he says quickly, "We were initially hostile, he was just trying to protect himself."

Kunimi struggles up, settling for using a burst of wind. They hover over to Yahaba and touch to the ground, leaning most of their weight against their friend.

"We are fine; Hanamaki got Kindaichi to Manami, he's perfectly okay now, and my leg will heal without issue. Everything worked out."

"That's not the point!" Oikawa cuts in.

The clouds are swirling and a gust of wind accompanies his words.

"One of you could have died," he says.

Iwaizumi sets his hand heavy on Oikawa's shoulder. A soft tremor rumbles beneath their feet and the winds quiet.

"I'll take full responsibility," Yahaba says suddenly, looking straight at Iwaizumi.

This is his compensation.

Just decades ago, he was in Kyoutani's place. The only fire spirit in the forest, the only spirit capable of burning Oikawa's pride and joy to the ground. He'd promised that he'd be careful, promised he'd keep better control of his powers. Standing in front of Kyoutani, a ball of fire in his hand, he can do something no one else can.

"I'll stay with him, instead of it being Iwaizumi, when he shifts. We can use the caves so there's no chance of the fire catching." Absently, he slips an arm around Kunimi, they're starting to nod off against him.

Before Oikawa can even open his mouth, Iwaizumi speaks.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Iwaizumi nods and Oikawa stares a moment before shaking his head. The wind is angry again, but it's not actively trying to kill all of them, so that's nice.

"I'm going to check on Kindaichi."

Iwaizumi lets him go.

"I'll take Kyoutani to his hollow. Why don't you take care of Kunimi? Then get some rest."

Iwaizumi picks up the still unconscious Kyoutani and carries him off.

Not wanting to move much, Yahaba sits down slowly, so Kunimi's lying on their back, their head in his lap.

* * *

Kyoutani's panicking as he wakes up.

He can never remember much, but he knows for certain the feeling of tearing through skin.

He knew this would happen. It isn't okay for him to be around other spirits, he's too dangerous. He doesn't bother questioning the quiet voice telling him to leave. He just runs.

* * *

Of all the stupid choices to make, Yahaba thinks, he goes and makes the stupidest one.

Iwaizumi's looking through the mountains, spreading his awareness through the stone in hopes of finding Kyoutani, but that will take a while. Oikawa is staying with Kindaichi but Watari is with Matsukawa, and Hanamaki is flying overhead. Kunimi's with Yahaba, against everyone's advisement.

"Where do you think he is?" they ask, hovering alongside Yahaba so they don't have to put any pressure on their leg.

"I don't know."

Kunimi hums their agreement and says nothing else.

After two hours, they find themselves near one of Manami's smaller streams.

"What's that?" Kunimi asks, pointing to what looks like a small hill a short ways from the stream.

As it is, there's a tree growing into the opposite side, its roots exposed and massive, creating an almost cave like structure.

And Kyoutani's sleeping inside.

"It looks like he's been here before," Kunimi says, "That boulder there, by what looks like the entrance, he must move it to lock himself inside when he shifts. There's scratches all over it."

Yahaba shivers at the thought.

"Why don't you talk to him? I'll go get the others and we'll wait for you two at the province."

Without anything more, Kunimi drifts away.

Not knowing what else to do, Yahaba sits down. With a sigh, he runs his hands through his hair, accidentally catching a stem at the base of his neck.

His small hiss of pain is apparently enough to wake Kyoutani.

"What are you doing here?" he asks, sitting up.

"Looking for you, obviously," Yahaba says, crossing his arms. "I'm bringing you back."

"No."

"No?"

"I'll hurt someone again. I hurt someone, I know I did. Who was it?"

"Kunimi and Kindaichi," Yahaba says after a moment, "You clawed Kunimi's leg and knocked Kindaichi around. They're fine now though. We all agreed it was because we were acting hostile and-"

"That doesn't matter!"

The rumble in his voice shakes the ground, and the boulder near the entry cracks in half.

Kyoutani takes one look at it and tucks his legs up to his chest, burying his face in his knees.

"I don't want to hurt anyone," he whispers.

"You won't."

* * *

Also, I'm not trying to villainize Oikawa at all, that's not intended in the slightest but I understand how it may come across like that. For this, he's very protective of his forest, and of his individual province, there's also a lot of baggage concerning Kageyama, but I haven't revealed that yet. So please don't think I'm trying to make Oikawa all mean just for the sake of it, I love him, but in this AU, there are contributing factors to his opposition of Kyoutani initially.

In other news:

I'm not sure if I should write up a full short for Yahaba, just what his whole 'compensation' thing is, I know of course, but you all don't. Regardless, I'll figure out what I'm doing. If there are any things you want to know for certain, whether about characters are anything else, send me a message on tumblr, or leave it in a comment!


	11. A Ghost Child (And The Problems Therein)

I'm currently up to my eyes in medication because I'm sick, and my 'L' key is still acting stupid, but I wanted to get this up. Here's Kageyama's backstory!

* * *

Oikawa's never had a family before. Wind Spirits are fairly nomadic beings, they don't settle and form provinces, and they certainly don't end up living with earth aligned spirits. But here he is, with a partner and a manifestation. A family of sorts he never expected to have.

* * *

Bright eyes, blue and full of stars, stare back at him from the hollow of a tree. They're glowing, casting light about the hollow, and throwing shadows across the spirit's face.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Iwaizumi says softly. He can't read any emotion in the spirit's eyes, but he can see the tremble in their lips and the way they're gripping their knees. Iwaizumi's not entirely sure what they're doing in a tree hollow. True enough, most spirits do make their night stays in hollows, this one seems a little strange, maybe it's because of the glowing flowers growing around the exposed roots.

"My name is Iwaizumi," he says.

The spirit nods slowly, but doesn't move otherwise.

"What's your name?" Slowly, Iwaizumi sits down on the ground, trying to make himself appear smaller.

"I-" The spirit shakes their head, frustrated. Their eyes furrow, the glowing dims slightly before they open their mouth again. "Kageyama, I think."

They think? Spirits know their names when they manifest, or they choose one for themselves. Some even do so continuously through their long, seemingly unending, lives. But this one can't remember, surely they'd choose a new one then.

Unless of course, they aren't necessarily a spirit.

They do look a little young. Most manifested spirits appear almost entirely physically matured, some a little less. But this one looks like a child.

That may be the answer then.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Kageyama."

He holds out his hand, waiting for the child to take it. When they do, Iwaizumi helps them out of the hollow, standing up straight to pull them to their feet.

Kageyama is short, much shorter than Iwaizumi originally thought. They only come up to his ribs, but the glowing from their petals gives them a greater presence.

"Are you lost?" Iwaizumi asks, kneeling down so Kageyama doesn't have to look up to see him.

"No."

"Looking for someone?"

"No."

"Do you have a province?"

Kageyama gives him a look that says they have no idea what a province is. They're the first manifestation that Iwaizumi's seen, so maybe it makes a little bit of sense that they wouldn't know.

"It's just myself and another, but we have a province, if you'd like a family? That's pretty much what a province is, a group of spirits who stay together. More will show up eventually, I'm sure, so our family will grow in time." Iwaizumi settles his hands on Kageyama's shoulders. The child nods and Iwaizumi offers them a reassuring smile.

"Okay then, it's in this direction," he gestures down the path he'd been walking before finding Kageyama, and stands up.

The two of them begin walking, Kageyama's small hand in Iwaizumi's much larger one. Their eyes continue to glow, and they occasionally squeeze Iwaizumi's hand, as if in reassurance that he's still there.

About halfway to the main clearing, Kageyama stumbles.

"Tired?" Iwaizumi asks.

Kageyama just nods, and Iwaizumi carries them the rest of the way.

* * *

Oikawa's dealt with Iwaizumi bringing creatures to their hollows before. Iwaizumi's brought injured bears, rodents, birds, practically every species and subspecies in the forest. He always ignores Oikawa's request that they not be brought into the hollow, find a different one, or keep them outside. But Iwaizumi doesn't listen. Too many times Oikawa's come back to see Iwaizumi treating an animal; sleeping against a deer with an injured foreleg, or sitting with a rabbit with a broken foot.

But when he arrives at their hollow to find Iwaizumi with a small child in his arms; his jaw drops. Iwaizumi's cradling them, humming softly as he runs his hand through their hair. The spirit child is fast asleep, a faint glow from their flowers pulses with their breath.

"What the hell?"

"Oikawa, hush, they're sleeping," Iwaizumi says, running his hands through the child's hair to still them.

They aren't a human child, that much is certain. The flowers give them away, blue and numerous, they speak to a forest manifestation. It wouldn't be strange under other circumstances, but this child is different. Spirits don't manifest looking so young, and what's more, this spirit has skin that is thin and tinted blue.

"I was doing my perimeter check," Iwaizumi says, "They were huddled in a tree hollow, eyes glowing."

"So you- what convinced them to come with you?"

"They have no one."

"Why are they so small?"

"I don't think they're a normal spirit."

Oikawa sits down, leaning almost obnoxiously close to the child. How can they not be a spirit? They have the flowers, obvious indicators of a forest manifestation. They could just easily be small, it's not entirely unheard of.

"What then?"

"A ghost child," Iwaizumi says after a moment. "When I asked them their name, they couldn't remember their own name for a moment. Most spirits name themselves. But Kageyama had to think to remember theirs. But it's their eyes, Oikawa you won't believe what they look like until you see them."

The news isn't comforting.

Ghost children are something of an anomaly, and Oikawa's only heard of two others in his terribly long life. They are very nearly exactly what their name implies; the ghosts of children who died, in this case, in the forest. Kageyama was a human at some point, long ago, and now they've become a spirit. One that has no specific elemental alignment. One that will grow from a child into a proper spirit presentation then stop there. One that will be able to change how they age.

Oikawa doesn't know what to think. Of the two he's heard of, one became unstable and died, while the other had to be killed because of how dangerous they got.

"Hajime-"

"They're still a manifestation," Iwaizumi says softly, sparing a hand to reach for Oikawa. "We're the Old Spirits, remember? This is our province, and we're supposed to take care of the spirits here."

"Okay, fine. I get to be the first to teach them though."

* * *

Kageyama's a fast learner. They take all that Oikawa is willing to teach them, soaking up each lesson like sunlight.

They're in a clearing, Kageyama on their stomach, fingers buried into the dirt. Their, apparently, perpetually glowing eyes are squeezed shut. Oikawa kneels beside them, staring at the slim stem pushing its way up into the air.

He enjoys teaching Kageyama, if only for the look of pure amazement he receives. He and Iwaizumi take turns. Oikawa will teach wind and forest magic for a little while, before Iwaizumi teaches the ghost child earth magic. It's all rather comforting.

Oikawa's never had a family before. Wind Spirits are fairly nomadic beings, they don't settle and form provinces, and they certainly don't end up living with earth aligned spirits. But here he is, with a partner and a manifestation. A family of sorts he never expected to have.

He doesn't want to let them go any time soon.

Kageyama opens their eyes, breathing in deeply before turning their gaze to Oikawa.

That's another thing he'd not been expecting. When Iwaizumi told him about Kageyama's eyes, Oikawa thought he was exaggerating. Kageyama's eyes are something to behold. Always with a blue base, they seem to change on a daily basis; swirling shades from blue to white, the night sky glittering with stars, shimmery pools of water, they were only slightly off putting.

"Very good," he says, tussling Kageyama's hair.

The flower is fully formed, petals unfurled, curled lightly towards the sky at its ends. The blossom is light blue, highlighted in greens and varying shades of white. Oikawa's never seen a one like it, which means Kageyama has made their own, a new breed of flower.

The ghost child practically glows at the praise and goes right back to work, trying to keep their eyes open this time.

By the time they're satisfied, Kageyama has about a dozen flowers before them. They look up at Oikawa, waiting for some kind of praise, and Oikawa gives it with a nod of his head. Kageyama jumps up, assisted by a short burst of wind and hovers lightly before standing firm on the ground.

"Keep that up and you'll have a whole field some day." Oikawa misses the spark that ignites in Kageyama's eyes, but he does notice the slight pulse in their glow.

The two return to the heart of the province, where Iwaizumi is dealing with a particularly crabby bear.

Kageyama runs over, short legs negated by the slight breeze pushing them forward. They slow down when they notice the bear looking at them. Iwaizumi says something to her, Oikawa never was able to pick up on animal speak, and she puts her head down. He gestures for Kageyama to come closer, holding out his hand for them.

Oikawa hangs back and watches Kageyama crouch at Iwaizumi's side. Iwaizumi keeps a steady conversation with the bear and Kageyama gives him the same wide eyed look they give Oikawa when he teaches them something new.

It's nearly endearing

Kageyama doesn't talk much, when they do it's in short bursts of rapid fire questions, usually directed at Oikawa. They listen intently to Iwaizumi and the bear, before hesitantly breathing out a soft rumble. The bear looks up at them, huffing before growling something at Iwaizumi.

Whatever it is, it makes Iwaizumi laugh.

Done with observing, Oikawa drifts over and settles himself at Iwaizumi's other side, leaning against him. Iwaizumi plays translator for the bear and the four of them talk until the sun starts to set.

* * *

Oikawa watches from the high branches.

Ghost children can't wield full control over all the elements, they just have a choice few talents from each. From what Oikawa and Iwaizumi can figure, Kageyama's nearly proficient in offensive wind magic, but their earth magic is limited to tremors and animal speak. It's impressive regardless, but Iwaizumi's a slight bit disappointed because he can't teach Kageyama proper earth magic.

Kageyama's picked up on that though.

They stand in front of the Old Spirit, a bundle of their personal flowers in hand. They're still short, only coming up to the bottom of Iwaizumi's ribs, so they press up onto their toes in order to shove the flowers into his face. They're not glowing so much as they are soaked in blue light. Kageyama's face is one set in stubborn determination, Oikawa thinks it's because they're trying to look mature.

Iwaizumi lets out a rumbling chuckle, soft tremors rocking the earth beneath him, before he accepts the flowers and ruffles Kageyama's hair.

"Thank you very much, Kageyama." He turns to Oikawa, having already picked up on his presence, "Oikawa, come look."

Oikawa floats down and hovers behind Iwaizumi so he's half over the Old Spirit's shoulder.

"Kageyama grew these for me."

"Tobio," Kageyama says, their glow fading to a light blue, as opposed to the darker, condensed shade.

"What?" Oikawa asks, looking up from the flowers.

"Tobio," they repeat, "That's my name, I think, Kageyama Tobio. It feels right."

It's quiet in the clearing, not a sound. Iwaizumi drops to his knees so he's more or less at their level.

"Hajime," he says simply.

"Tooru."

Tobio looks up with a soft smile and their glow brightens.

* * *

"Do you think they get lonely?" Iwaizumi asks.

He and Oikawa sit against a rock wall near the base of Iwaizumi's mountain. Tobio is otherwise occupied with a curiously colored butterfly, they've taken to chasing it around the small clearing. They've grown some, physically aged a few years over the decades.

"They have us," Oikawa says simply.

"Yes, but-"

"They don't need anyone else."

"Tooru," Iwaizumi starts, a note of concern in his voice, "I'm not suggesting we send them off to find more manifestations. I'm just wondering if they're lonely with just us. We aren't exactly close to their age, we're Old Spirits, and Tobio's a ghost child, it's different."

Oikawa sighs, wringing his hands, and nods.

"What do you suggest?" he asks at last.

"Just that we keep an eye out for other manifestations, it's around the proper time for them to be showing up."

"It's a big forest."

"That just means we'll get a bigger family."

Oikawa likes that idea.

* * *

Iwaizumi's worries are quelled soon enough.

Two new spirits wander in, a wind aligned spell caster named Kunimi, and a water aligned spirited named Kindaichi. Tobio stays close to Iwaizumi, keeping their glow dim like it will detract attention.

Iwaizumi stays with Tobio, and Oikawa goes to speak with the two newcomers. They appear to be around Tobio's age, if their spirit songs are anything to go by. He thinks it will be good for Tobio, to have friends. It will be good for Oikawa too. Iwaizumi knows that wind spirits rarely settle, and they certainly don't start provinces in forests, but Oikawa is a special case.

"Tobio," Iwaizumi sets his hand on their head, "I think Oikawa's done talking, why don't you help them find a hollow?"

Tobio bites their lip but nods.

Iwaizumi watches as Tobio introduces themself, using just 'Kageyama' and mumbles something about the hollows in the clearing.

Despite the years, Tobio will occasionally forgo sleeping in their hollow to stay up with Iwaizumi and Oikawa, usually whenever they're feeling anxious about something, or when they remember something about their human life.

"I'm sorry Hajime," Oikawa says, coming to stand by him, his eyes fixed on the three manifestations wandering about the clearing.

"For what?"

"They're not earth aligned,"

"It's not your fault."

"I can still apologize though." Oikawa sighs, a powerful breeze blowing past as he exhales.

"Something troubling you?" Iwaizumi asks, looking down at the grass dying beneath Oikawa's feet.

"These two aren't like Tobio. What if the three of them don't get along? What if they hate each other?"

"I think we'll be fine. Tobio and Kunimi can bond over wind magic, and I'm sure that Tobio will work up the courage to ask Kindaichi about water magic."

"Will that make them unstable? Learning a third alignment?"

"They're a ghost child, Tooru, they'll be fine."

* * *

They're fine.

For a while anyways.

The three manifestations get along quite well for a few decades. Oikawa teaches Tobio and Kunimi, while Iwaizumi takes Kindaichi to see Manami for water magic lessons. Whenever they return, Tobio pesters Kindaichi until he shows them what he's learned.

That's where the trouble usually starts.

Tobio is learning faster than before, they don't quite understand that not everyone can do what they can. They're the only ghost child, the only one with multiple alignments.

They grow Oikawa a whole field of their special flowers; to impress him, and thank him. They give one to Kindaichi, and another to Kunimi, Iwaizumi gets a whole bouquet. They learn how to sense vibrations, much to Iwaizumi's enjoyment, and later figures out how to hear spirit songs. They can ride breezes for a short time, direct wind, float, all that Oikawa has taught them. They've gone to see Manami too, after Kindaichi got frustrated with their constant questions, and Tobio figured out weather sensing, and breathing underwater.

Tobio doesn't understand.

It's a little frustrating for Oikawa too.

Tobio has a strong alignment to air, and after a couple hundred years, Oikawa's run out of things to teach them. It's concerning, the power that Tobio is gaining, it reminds Oikawa of all the stories he's heard about ghost children.

And they just keep getting stronger.

* * *

Tobio sits with Iwaizumi on a short outcropping, wringing their hands. Their glow has been an unsteady pulse for the past few weeks, faltering and sporadic.

"What's so bad about being a ghost child?" they ask after a few minutes of tense silence.

"Nothing," Iwaizumi says immediately.

Tobio gives him a look that says they don't believe him.

"Nothing really," he amends, "I've only heard of a few ghost children, and it's never ended well for them."

"What happened?"

"They die. They either become unstable and die, or have to be killed because the power they hold is too dangerous."

"I have to be killed?"

"No," Iwaizumi almost shouts, taking in Tobio's anxious look and teary eyes, "I didn't mean it like that. The ones that have been killed tried to do bad things, that's the only reason."

Tobio is quiet for a little while before their glow disappears completely.

"I don't want to be like that."

* * *

Kunimi and Kindaichi don't talk to Tobio as much as they used to, Iwaizumi finds this a little troubling. He waits until Tobio's gone to see Manami, and Oikawa is out on patrol, to ask.

"They're too much," Kindaichi huffs, crossing his arms and looking away.

"He means they expect too much," Kunimi says, "Kageyama gets frustrated because we can't do what they can."

Iwaizumi decides to wait until Tobio comes back, the four of them, five is Oikawa arrives by then, can sort this all out. He knows that Tobio is more powerful than them, knows that there are things that ghost children can do that normal spirits can't, but this little family is important to him.

Oikawa returns soon enough, but the hours drag until night falls and Tobio still isn't back yet. Iwaizumi calls a few birds and tells them to fly down to Manami's main river, to see if Tobio's there.

They're not.

Iwaizumi takes Kunimi, Oikawa goes with Kindaichi, and they split up to look for Tobio.

"Kageyama isn't a regular spirit," Kunimi says once they've been walking about twenty minutes. They float beside him, very rarely does Kunimi actually walk, and Iwaizumi doesn't know what to say.

"They're not."

"I figured," Kunimi sighs, floating up higher so they can see into the trees.

"Why do you bring it up?" Iwaizumi sends another tremor through the ground, trying to find Tobio's signature.

"I worry that they'll become unstable."

Before Iwaizumi can respond, Kunimi breezes forward a short ways, stopping suddenly.

"Found them," they say easily.

It's not the fact that Tobio's in the same hollow Iwaizumi found them in all that time ago, but what's happened to the clearing that's surprising.

The trees have all been knocked down, roots up in the air. The grass is dead, flowers wilted, and Iwaizumi can't feel any animals in the immediate area. It's quiet save for the sporadic sobbing coming from Tobio's hollow.

"I'll go get Kindaichi and Oikawa," Kunimi says, hovering away before Iwaizumi can nod.

Iwaizumi kneels down at the opening of the hollow.

"Tobio."

Their head snaps up, eyes glowing white like Iwaizumi's never seen. The wind picks up, Iwaizumi's only felt it like this when Oikawa gets frustrated. But Tobio isn't Oikawa, they're a ghost child with a real chance of instability if Iwaizumi doesn't do something.

"Tobio," he says again, holding out his hand, "What happened?"

Tobio just shakes their head, tears pouring down their cheeks.

Iwaizumi reaches into the hollow and lifts them out with ease. Tobio's not so short anymore, but they're still small than Iwaizumi.

He hears the wind kick up even more, hears Oikawa's spirit song, and knows it's not going to end well.

Kunimi and Kindaichi hang back, staying to the edge of the clearing while Oikawa drifts closer.

"What happened?" he whispers, eyes fixed on the fallen trees.

"I don't know," Iwaizumi answers, seeing as Tobio is still crying.

No, this won't go well at all.

* * *

It doesn't happen again for the longest time, but Tobio withdraws. They stay in their hollow, or disappear for a few days. They stop practicing with Oikawa and Iwaizumi, stop going to see Manami, even stop talking to Kindaichi and Kunimi after a while.

A few years later, Tobio wakes Iwaizumi, kneeling at the opening of his hollow.

"Did something happen?" Iwaizumi asks.

"I have a question."

It must be serious if Tobio can't wait until morning.

"Okay, what is it?"

"Do spirits _have_ to stay in provinces?"

"What?"

Iwaizumi sits straight up, disturbing Oikawa and waking him.

"What's going on?" he asks, rubbing his eyes.

"Tobio wants to leave."

* * *

They know Oikawa won't let them go, knows how important the province is to him. But they're dangerous, they killed a clearing. They're a ghost child, and ghost children die, Iwaizumi told them as much.

So Tobio gives Oikawa a reason to make them leave.

They wipe out a small section of trees, resulting in a rockslide that dams up one of Manami's rivers. Their point isn't totally driven home until they kill the flower field they'd grown for Oikawa so many years ago.

Iwaizumi tries to fix the situation, Oikawa takes their actions to mean that they don't actually _want_ to be a part of the province.

He's wrong, Tobio wants a family, but it's not going to work. Kunimi and Kindaichi don't like them, and they're a threat to what Oikawa's worked so hard to build.

It's easier like this.

Tobio leaves.

* * *

So, yeah. This is the reason Oikawa has such an issue with Kyoutani in 'The Half Beast' it's kind of a hodgepodge of stuff concerning Kageyama, which he covers up with 'but he's gonna destroy the forest'. Because that's what made Kageyama leave, the capability to hurt the forest turned into guilt and the feeling that they were too dangerous, and Oikawa doesn't want that for Kyoutani. He's just not totally super at portraying that point.

If you've got questions, ask them!


	12. Barons and Fire Spirits

I had a four hour test period today and this was only supposed to be seven hundred words max, but here we are. Enjoy!

* * *

Kuroo doesn't like the idea, doesn't like the thought that there's some kind of spirit component. There's too many unknowns with spirits, no one knows much. The Crow District has the majority of the lore, and records dating back lifetimes, but no one has actually sat down with spirits.

And any partials that may live among them aren't going to say anything.

Kenma has to make something, composed of apparently illegal contraband, to combat a magical condition that they have no concrete knowledge about. Just great.

* * *

One stray comment, he hadn't even heard all of it, he just knows that it was negative, and directed at Kenma.

The smaller boy had opted to wait for him at the corridor entry to the training grounds, as opposed to the front of the Stay wall like he usually would. Kenma doesn't train with the rest of them, he's taken on the role of the apothecary's apprentice instead. He doesn't wait for Kuroo often, just when it's slow in the workshop.

Kenma's biting his lip, wringing his hands, they're the only sign Kuroo has that what was said is actually bothering the boy.

Kenma's fairly good at ignoring people, letting insults roll right off him without issue. The other trainees, sons of generals and advisors, have teased him since he abysmally failed the initiation. Kenma's father is a commanding general, near legendary. His mother was a drifter, someone from another Stay, someone unknown. She'd brought Kenma, only three years old at the time, to his father, and died of a sickness shortly after.

It has all culminated into a veritable jackpot of insults.

Kuroo doesn't think. He's twelve, with a wooden practice sword and the rough edged skills to handle it.

"Take it back," he says, shifting his grip on the sword handle.

"No, it's true, why should I?"

The other boy barely gets his sword up to block the strike. Kuroo keeps coming, swing after swing before he abandons his sword in favor of tackling the boy to the ground.

"Tetsurou!"

Faintly, he can hear Kenma, but he forgets that when a fist connects with his jaw.

The other boy is fighting back, which is good, it'll stem any lingering doubt Kuroo might have later. Kuroo's prepared to elbow him in the face when a pair of arms loop around his waist from behind.

The head instructor, an aging man named Nekomata, doesn't look very pleased, and neither does Instructor Naoi, who has taken hold of the other boy.

Kuroo looks past them, finding Kenma's frightened gaze. It's enough to snap him back to some semblance of himself, and he stops fighting against Nekomata.

Under their Instructors' orders, Kuroo and the boy do nothing but intensive drilling for a month. Kuroo's the Baron's heir, he can't afford to be so immature.

No one thinks much of the outburst though, he's young, and devoted to Kenma, and it doesn't happen again.

* * *

Kuroo finds Kenma in the apothecary's workshop after dark.

"Your hand," Kenma says when the door opens, his bright eyes immediately drawn to the bruises and blood decorating Kuroo's knuckles.

"I punched a tree," he says easily, sitting down on a stool.

Kenma sighs and crouches behind a different table, rummaging about before returning to Kuroo with bandages and few jars of unidentifiable substances.

"Give it here." Kenma tears a small strip from the bandage roll and soaks it in the shallow basin of water already on the table. Kuroo does as instructed, and Kenma begins wiping away the blood. He cleans the cuts, ignoring Kuroo's occasional wincing with practiced indifference.

When the cuts are clean to Kenma's standards, he begins his work in earnest.

It's more than a little captivating watching Kenma work. Kuroo's mother was a botanist, she'd taught him all about plant properties and healing capabilities. He knows more than enough to understand what Kenma is doing, but there's always something a bit different. Very rarely does Kenma do anything by fact, and he creates as he goes.

Kuroo watches as he opens the jars and reaches across the table for the mortar and pestle. After a few of creating, Kenma has a blue paste prepared. He scoops some of it onto his fingers and rubs it over Kuroo's knuckles. It stings for a moment before an icy chill spreads over his hand.

Kenma bandages him up and wipes the paste from his fingers.

"Thanks."

Kenma just nods before he begins to clean up.

Once he's finished, they head home.

Kenma's home anyways.

Kuroo likes it there, it's quiet, away from the hustle and bustle of the Stay. Despite Kenma's father's ranking, he'd opted for peace and quiet after nearly a year of cannon fire overseas.

Technically, Kuroo's supposed to stay with the other trainees at the barracks, but he rarely stays there. Besides, Kenma's father is rarely home, so it's not like he'll get in trouble.

* * *

They're in trouble.

Two days spent tracking an enemy scout team and they've only just realized their folly.

Kuroo draws his swords, feeling a fire spark to life in his stomach. Bokuto claps his hand to Kuroo's shoulder and grins. He's only been General for a year now, if they can land this, no one's going to question his position.

"Ready?" he asks.

"Of course."

Fukunaga lets loose a crossbow bolt into the branches of the surrounding trees, where he can see the faintest snatch of color from a cloak. Not a moment later, Konoha follows suit, the deep _thwack_ of his long bow sounds seconds before two bodies drop from the trees.

Then it's hell.

Kuroo's running on instinct, separating his enemies from his friends by their uniforms. Fukunaga and Konoha take out the enemy archers, Onaga is with Yaku, making sure their escape is clear. Faintly, he can hear Bokuto shouting orders behind him.

He doesn't have to think about his motions, swings his swords is as easy as breathing, and he stops thinking completely after a while. His blades flash down, creating shallow wounds so he can continue fighting his opponents for longer. It's never been this enjoyable before. He's never liked the warm spray of blood blossoming across his skin as his enemies fall.

But it's exhilarating now.

A hand falls to his shoulder and his swords come up like a knee jerk reaction.

Bokuto is skilled enough to block the strike, and Kuroo's left staring dazedly at the concern on his friend's face.

"You okay?" Bokuto asks, slowly lowering his weapon.

Kuroo blinks, nodding as he comes back to himself. His swords fall to the ground as his hands go lax. The exhaustion hits him all at once, radiating heavy from his shoulders, burning through his arms. He stumbles, and Bokuto catches him with ease.

"That's what happens when you try to take out an entire squadron by yourself." Bokuto's laugh is forced, little more than a huff of air wrestled past his teeth, but Kuroo does the same before promptly falling unconscious.

When he comes to, he's slumped in his saddle.

The first thing he notices is the ropes keeping him tied, keeping him upright. Next he sees Yaku, riding beside him. Kuroo's reins lead to Yaku's saddle, slipped through an extra loop so the field medic won't have to hold it.

"Where's everyone else?" he asks, sleep clumsy fingers attempting to undo the knots crisscrossing his legs.

"Don't know exactly, they should be near the divide by now, I think," Yaku says easily.

"What? Where are we then?"

"About a half day from home."

"Why?"

Kuroo's not getting anywhere with the knots, so he takes a moment. If they're a half day from home, he's been unconscious for nearly two days, maybe a little less if if it's just him and Yaku.

"General Bokuto wants you in the infirmary."

"I'm fine," Kuroo insists.

"He's concerned, I am too. It's like you were in a trance, Tetsurou, something happened to your eyes."

Yaku reins in his horse, slowing from a trot to a full stop. He undoes the knots and gives Kuroo back the reins to his horse.

"It's for the best."

* * *

When they get back to the Stay, Kenma's waiting for them.

"Bokuto sent a bird," he says, "I told Kai not to tell anyone else," he says.

"Nothing's wrong with me, I'm not sick." Kuroo sounds like he's trying to convince himself more so than he is Kenma.

Nevertheless, he accepts Kenma's hand and follows him to a cot. Yaku gets to work with simple diagnostics, and once he's tended to Kuroo's minor injuries, he pulls Kenma aside. The two converse in hushed whispers for far longer than Kuroo thinks is necessary.

Kenma gives him a fleeting glance before he rushes from the infirmary, out a side door, and into the corridor.

"What's going on?"

Yaku sits on the cot opposite him and takes a breath.

"It sounds a lot like bloodlust," he says after a moment."

"Bloodlust?"

"Uncontrollable rage, tunnel vision, excessive violence when engaged in combat, inability to distinguish friend from foe." Yaku rubs at his neck. "A long time ago, soldiers used to hunt fire spirits and they used the blood before battles. It was believed to boost their fighting ability. It was kind of true, it more or less turned them into weapons for a given period of time."

"I've never-"

"I know. But it's possible to have traces of it though, either because of a spirit somewhere in your family history, or something else. It's the only thing I can think of, and Kenma agrees."

"Yaku, that's impossible! How could-"

"You almost attacked Bokuto. If he didn't have the skills that he does, you would have seriously injured him."

"That was just- I was still involved in the fight, that's all it was!"

"Your eyes were red! It looked like your irises were melting. That can't be explained by anything else!"

At that moment, Kenma returns, carrying a few old books.

"About the eyes," he begins, "Azumane has a surplus of books about spirits. I borrowed some a while back."

Kenma sits down on the floor, setting down the books. He takes a moment to flip through them until he finds what he wants.

"Your eyes changed; some of the lore claims that when fire spirits fought, they could ignite their bloodlust. Their eyes changed until they were entirely red, no black or other color. It sounds like a more extreme version of what Yaku described." Kenma's voice is indifferent for the most part, Kuroo can detect the faint waver but he elects to say nothing when Kenma hands him the book.

"It would be for the best if you don't go on any expeditions until I can make something to combat this. I'll need to send a bird for Shouyou and Yachi first."

"Why?" Yaku asks.

"Yachi knows a few illegal plant smugglers, they have some of the items I'll need. Shouyou can smuggle them in with his canvases when he comes to deliver the maps we commissioned."

"Do you do this often?"

"Of course not."

Yaku isn't entirely sure if Kenma is being truthful or not.

"What is this combatant supposed to do?" Kuroo asks, putting down the book.

"Quell the bloodlust so you can fight with control as usual."

Kuroo doesn't like the idea, doesn't like the thought that there's some kind of spirit component. There's too many unknowns with spirits, no one knows much. The Crow District has the majority of the lore, and records dating back lifetimes, but no one has actually sat down with spirits.

And any partials that may live among them aren't going to say anything.

Kenma has to make something, composed of apparently illegal contraband, to combat a magical condition that they have no concrete knowledge about. Just great.

But he nods anyways.

"This can't get out," Kuroo says.

"Agreed. However, Bokuto has to know, Sawamura as well, and likely their healers," Yaku says.

"Why?"

"They're the ones you fight with, they'll need to know just in case Kenma's solution doesn't work."

Kenma looks mildly affronted that Yaku would even suggest his failure, but he doesn't say anything.

They sit in awkward silence before Yaku lets out a heavy sigh.

"I'll send a bird for Bokuto, let him know that you're all right."

Once he's gone, Kenma begins picking up the books. He manages to hold them to his chest with one arm, and uses his free hand to grab Kuroo by his bicep. Kenma has since moved into the Stay, and Kuroo follows him through the halls until they reach his room.

"Window," Kenma mumbles, giving Kuroo a gentle nudge before he turns to put away his books.

He hears the rustle of pillows, and the whisper of a blanket, so he figures that Kuroo is settling down.

"I can send a bird for Shouyou-" Kenma cuts himself off when he sees Kuroo nervously scratching at his forearms. "Tetsurou."

Kenma moves to sit beside him, taking his hands to stop him damaging his skin further,

"What if people find out?" Kuroo whispers. "What if they find out that I've got some insane condition that makes me kill people? I'm the Baron, Kenma, I can't-"

"That's not what it is," Kenma cuts in.

"How is it not? I almost hurt Bokuto, and I didn't even know it! I don't think I even cared." Kuroo's crying now, he's sure of it, but he's numb, there could easily be another explanation for why his cheeks are wet and his eyes are burning.

Kenma squeezes his hands.

"I'll make sure it doesn't ever happen again. You'll be back to fighting without issue, I swear. Until then, you can work with Akaashi, or help me in the workshop." Kenma's voice is soft, his eyes fixed on their hands.

"Kenma-"

"I swear it. It won't happen ever again."

* * *

I'm in too deep with my own AU, how does that even happen. Anyhow, here's Kuroo's backstory, complete with the instances mentioned in Bloodust, plus a tree punching injury because why not?

If you've got any questions, about this or the AU in general, please ask! I've gotten a few so far that I'm going to work into a short, but if there's anything you're wondering, let me know and I'll write it up!


End file.
